Ag Communications

Purpose

The Nebraska State Agricultural Communications Career Development Event, is a simplified version of the national event. It includes these four elements:

• Team Communication Plan (including Feature Story, Magazine Layout Design, Broadcast Production, and Social Communication Plan)
• Team Communication Plan Presentation
• Editing Quiz
• Communications Quiz

The Agricultural Communication Career Development Event provides individuals with basic communication skills necessary to take advantage of career opportunities in agricultural communication. Public communication about agricultural products, practices and policies is essential to the future of agriculture. Students who are equipped with strong communication skills and who can use a variety of media to help the public understand issues related to the agricultural industry have a bright future in the job market. This event draws from Ag Communication curricula that contain the following elements: strategic communication/integrated multimedia communication, science literacy, public issues and policy, presentation strategies, news writing/editing, Associated Press style.

Pre-Qualifying Event and Timeline

A pre-qualifying event is open to ALL schools in Nebraska held via Zoom during the end of January/beginning of February every year. Top 10 teams from the pre-qualifying event will be invited to the state finals and submit a full Communication Plan with all associated deliverables. For full details of the change in format, see “Section 8. Event Format” in the downloadable rules/handbook below. Click here to view the 2025 timeline.
 

2025 Communications Plan Scenario and Event Timeline

You have been asked to promote your FFA chapter by creating a communications plan (and all associated deliverables) that highlights your FFA chapter. This can be a person, event, project, accomplishment, etc., but it must be current (that is, happening now, or within the last school year) and include at least one person currently in your FFA chapter. Keep in mind you are responsible for generating the photos, graphics, interviews, and multimedia components for this project, so having access to those materials, or creating them, is necessary for success. You should use FFA New Horizons for topic generation and design ideas.

Communications Plans (and all associated deliverables) should be submitted by the Top 10 Finalist Teams (announced in mid-February) no later than March 15, 2025, for those who qualify for the in-person event.

Click here to submit the Communications Plan
Click to view Ag Communications CDE study materials
Click here to view the Ag Communications CDE schedule

Download Handbook & Rules

Superintendent(s):

Dr. Laura Young
ALEC Associate Professor of Practice
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication
laura.young@unl.edu