SW MINNESOTA 4-H HOSTED AG ROBOTICS CHALLENGE

June 7, 2023 40 youth from all over Southwest Minnesota met in either Redwood Falls, Morris or Slayton to participate in the first annual AG Robotics Challenge. Each youth had the opportunity to build and program the robot to perform a series of 6 AG related tasks. Each task required potential different builds of the robot and programming skills to herd cattle, pick apples, load corn or hay bales and remove pests from crops.

4-H youth are exploring different career paths in so many new ways. With this challenge youth learned coding and programming as well as design and function of their robot. They also need problem solving skills to handle everyday challenges on a typical farm. Youth were scored based on design, programming as well as strategy and innovation for each challenge.

Morris area competitors were able to meet with the robotics team from West Central Research and Outreach Center to demonstrate their weed eliminator robot. The team was able to show the youth actual agriculture robotics and how they benefit farmers and producers. Programs such as the SW Ag Robotics Challenge are made possible by donations from Kibble Equipment as well as fundraising by 4-H youth in multiple counties.

For more information contact Stacy Johnson at the Redwood County Extension Office 507637-4025; Suzanne Souza at the Big Stone County Extension Office 320-839-6380; Kim Hause at the Murray County Extension Office 507-836-1144 or Brian Mc Neill at the Morris Regional Extension Center 320-589-1711 ext. 2131