Osmond FFA Among Chapters Who Competed in Forestry & Floriculture CDEs Hosted by the Haskell Ag Lab
Launch the media gallery 1 playerMembers of the Osmond FFA Chapter were among the nineteen schools and approximately 200 Nebraska FFA students who participated in the Floriculture and Forestry Career Development Events (CDEs) hosted at the Haskell Agricultural Laboratory (HAL) on Wednesday, September 9th, 2026. The event was organized by former Stuart FFA Advisor and current UNL ALEC staff member Monty Larson.
This is the first year for the floriculture competition at HAL and the second for Forestry. The Forestry CDE itself is a relatively new event for Nebraska FFA, making the competition at HAL an opportunity for schools to become familiar with the event format and skills required. For chapters using the competition as their district event, top teams will advance to the state competition in Lincoln early next year. Pam Bergstrom, a Nebraska agroforester, played an instrumental role in preparing the forestry competition. Students were challenged to identify trees, insects, diseases, and equipment, along with completing an individual exam. Teams also worked together to determine tree height, estimate the amount of lumber that could be produced, calculate cost per board, and complete other forestry-related activities.
District 4 used this contest as its state qualifying competition, with Pierce and Norfolk earning the opportunity to advance to the state competition in April. The Osmond FFA team finished just behind them in a close third-place finish, earning the designation as the district's alternate team for the state competition.
Osmond team members included Adalyn, Easton, Nevaeh, and Clara. Additional Osmond participants included Ashlyn and Deanna. A total of 50 individuals competed in the contest.
Osmond also had several strong individual performances. Adalyn Koehler earned a fourth-place purple ribbon in District 4, while Easton Steinkraus received a ninth-place blue ribbon and Nevaeh Newton earned a 14th-place red ribbon.
The Floriculture CDE featured a variety of flowers provided by Noecker’s Acres, a you-pick flower farm near Bow Valley, NE, along with additional varieties from Hy-Vee in Norfolk, NE.
The event gave younger, less-experienced teams a chance to become familiar with the competition format while giving experienced teams additional practice. Students worked with flower varieties they may not encounter at district or state competitions while creating nosegay bouquets and boutonnieres. The competition also included several live plants for identification, providing students with hands-on experience that can be difficult to incorporate into larger competitions.
Approximately 84 students participated in the floriculture competition, with Osmond FFA members earning several strong individual and team finishes. Clara led the Osmond participants with an 11th-place finish, followed by Adalyn in 16th, Alyvia in 27th, and Kaylee in 40th. Together, the four members earned an impressive fifth-place team finish out of 21 teams. Additional Osmond FFA participants included Kendra, Klaire, Aubree, and Kayleigh.
Continued participation in Haskell Ag Lab’s CDE Invites demonstrates the value of giving Nebraska FFA students opportunities to practice, learn, and build confidence before competing at district and state levels. The District 4 Floriculture contest will be held February 23rd, 2027, at Northeast Community College in conjunction with several other District CDE Contests.
Schools participating in either the Forestry or Floriculture event included Hartington-Newcastle, Osmond, Pierce, West Point, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, Lutheran High Northeast, Winside, Emerson-Hubbard, Omaha Bryan, Wayne, Arlington, Malcolm, Norfolk, Scribner-Snyder, Bloomfield, Pender, Summerland, Verdigre, and Randolph.