by Nasrin Nawa | Nebraska Extension
Lincoln, Neb. —The 109th Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference of the National Association of County Agriculture Agents recognized four Extension professionals with national awards.
The awards received are as follows:
National Search for Excellence Award in Farm and Ranch Business Management:
“It’s as Easy as ABC – Figuring Cost of Production Using the Agricultural Budget Calculator Program”
Glennis McClure, Extension educator and development team member for the ABC program, received this award. The Agricultural Budget Calculator (ABC) program is a unique enterprise budgeting tool that offers a suite of risk management decision tools with educational and technical support provided by extension educators.
Nebraska Distinguished Service Award Winner:
This award is presented to Extension professionals with more than 10 years of service who have conducted outstanding programs, are held in high esteem by their fellow workers. Nebraska Extension Educator and Entomologist Wayne Ohnesorg received this award. His areas of expertise center around integrated pest management, insect pest management, insect identification and mobile scouting tools. Additionally, he is a panelist on Backyard Farmer and delivers commercial, non-commercial, and private pesticide applicator training.
Nebraska Achievement Award Winner:
This award is presented to Extension professionals with less than 10 years of service. Katja Koehler-Cole, Extension Educator, is the recipient. She is a statewide Soil Health Management Extension Educator focusing on teaching and researching soil health and regenerative agricultural practices. Koehler-Cole also serves as the SARE state co-coordinator, helping raise awareness of sustainable agriculture resources.
Extension Educator, Elizabeth Exstrom was selected as Communication Award National Finalist in the in the areas of Feature Story and Publication. One of her recent articles, "Prune Trees, Shrubs at Right Time," published in the January 2024 print edition of "Nebraska Farmer," garnered significant attention, with over 60,000 online views on the "Farm Progress" website and distribution to 30,000 print subscribers, 4,600 Facebook followers, and 4,100 daily newsletter subscribers. The article can be found online at Farm Progress. Exstrom presented about the Nebraska Extension Special Garden Project in the conference.
Jenny Rees, another Nebraska Extension educator was selected as the Vice Chair for the North Central Region in Agronomy and Pest Management. She presented about her Soil Health Small Support Groups in the conference. You can find more about her work here.
"Each and every one of our Extension professionals is delivering tremendous value to UNL and making a significant impact on Nebraska communities by sharing their knowledge and helping them make better decisions using UNL's available resources," said Charles Stoltenow, Dean and Director of Nebraska Extension.