The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crops Team including Samantha Teten (front row, from left), Cody Kuester, Cody McClellan, Jon Jahnke, Rodger Farr (back row, from left), Kolby Grint, Collin Thompson and team coach Adam Striegel, earns second place at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture collegiate crops judging contest March 11, in Curtis, Nebraska.
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crops Team placed second in the four-year university division at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture collegiate crops judging contest March 11 in Curtis, Nebraska.
Hosted by NCTA Agronomy, teams from four-year and two-year institutions completed four sections covering general agronomic knowledge, agronomic math, plant and seed identification and a lab practical.
The contest drew 64 competitors as four students per school were eligible for awards and more students participated to gain experience. Iowa State University captured first place in the four-year university division and a foursome of NCTA sophomores won the two-year college division.
Four-year universities competing against Nebraska included Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Fort Hays State University, Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
“I am extremely proud of our team’s performance at NCTA,” said team coach Adam Striegel, Doctor of Plant Health and agronomy graduate student. “My students have been challenging themselves all semester to improve and the results of this contest show those efforts are paying off. It will be interesting to see how we place at nationals.”
The Nebraska team included seniors Cody Kuester, Cody McClellan and Jon Jahnke, sophomores Samantha Teten, Rodger Farr, Kolby Grint and Collin Thompson.
The Nebraska Crops Team will travel to Manhattan, Kansas to compete in the 2017 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference national competition, April 6–8, hosted by Kansas State University. The team will compete against 15 to 20 four-year universities.