by Sherry Vinton, Director, Nebraska Department of Agriculture Agriculture is Nebraska’s number one industry and heart and soul of our state. Agriculture deserves recognition and celebration every day, especially during National Ag Week, March 17- 23. As the Director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), it’s an honor and a privilege to serve the dedicated people of Nebraska's agricultural community.

CAMBRIDGE - Southern Valley, Southwest, and Cambridge competed at the Trojans relays last Saturday. On the girls' and boys' sides, Cambridge placed first as a team, Southwest placed second, and Southern Valley placed third.

The Republican Plains Activity Conference has announced the 2023-2024 All-Conference Basketball Teams. In the Girls East Division, First Team selections included Stella Heapy of Medicine Valley, and Ann Bose and Adi Hunt, of Southern Valley.

Arapahoe and Maywood-Hayes Center track teams competed at the 2024 UNK Indoor Class D Invite last Thursday, with both teams taking home a handful of medals. Will Cacy and Grayson Koller dominated for the Arapahoe boys.

LINCOLN - A back-andforth State Semifinal between second-seeded Maywood-Hayes Center and sixth-seeded Sumner-Eddyville-Miller was tilted by a key fourthquarter run and the Wolves emerged with a 53-48 win to advance to the State Championship game.

60 year continuous membership.

At the NSAA District D2-4 Speech Meet in Litchfi eld, eleven students from Maywood, Medicine Valley, Elwood, and Eustis-Farnam qualified for the 2024 State Speech Meet. From Maywood, Emma Peterka, Graci Peterka, and Pryce Johnston qualified.

Local farmers and agriculture families banded together to donate about 225 tons of feed to farmers suffering losses from the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas panhandle. Thirty to fifty families donated eleven trucks full of hay, cane, oats, mineral tubs, wire, fence posts, and other necessities to farmers and ranchers to feed their livestock and repair damages.

MHC boys take state runner-up, first in program history.

Hallee Sheffield of Medicine Valley signs her letter of intent to compete on the rodeo team at Southeast Community College in Beatrice. .