Agronomy’s Crops Teams and Soil Judging Teams have enjoyed many years of competitive successes recently. Since October 2016, there have been another round of notable achievements by our students!
- Crops Team Shares 2016 National Championship Title
The Kansas State University Crops Team completed the fall season by taking the top three individual placings to win the Chicago Collegiate Crops Contest by 104 points over Iowa State University. Earlier in the week, Iowa State edged the K-State team by six points in the Kansas City American Royal contest, resulting in a shared national championship for 2016.
This was the 8th straight win for K-State in the Chicago contest, matching the record set by the University of Minnesota from 1969-1976. K-State teams have now won or shared the collegiate crops contest championship in 20 of the past 23 years.
Official members of the K-State team were agronomy majors Jessi Bramhall, Seneca, senior; Sarah Zerger, Cheney, junior; and Hayden Guetterman, Bucyrus, senior. Alternate contestants were sophomores Keren Dureksen, Newton, and Kaylin Fink, Chapman.
In both contests, the K-State team took first place in both the grain grading and the plant and seed identification phases of the contest, and placed second in seed analysis. At Chicago, each team member won one component, and a 1-2-3 finish in grain grading sealed the win for K-State.
Jessi Bramhall was the high individual overall and the high individual in seed analysis. Sarah Zerger took second overall and was the high individual in plant and seed identification with a perfect score, the first in since 1994 in the Chicago contest. Hayden Guetterman was third high individual, and won the grain grading section. Bramhall was second in identification and third in grain grading. Zerger placed second in grain grading while Guetterman placed fourth in seed analysis and fifth in identification.
At Kansas City, Jessi Bramhall was second overall, second in identification, third in seed analysis and fifth in grain grading. Sarah Zerger placed fourth overall, second in grain grading and fifth in seed analysis and identification. Hayden Guetterman was eighth overall and fourth in identification.
The team was coached by Kevin Donnelly, professor of agronomy. Assistant coaches were Nicole Sudbeck, agronomy junior from Seneca, and Samantha L’Ecuyer, agronomy senior from Morrowville.
- Crops Team Wins Australian Universities Crops Competition
Five members of the Kansas State University Crops Team took first place in the Australian Universities Crops Competition. The event was hosted by the Australian Grain Growers organization and was held in Temora, New South Wales.
K-State Crops Team members making the trip included Samantha L’Ecuyer, Morrowville; Nicole Sudbeck, Seneca; Michaela Simmelink, Downs; Jessi Bramhall, Seneca; and Sarah Zerger, Cheney. The team was accompanied to Australia by coach Kevin Donnelly, professor of agronomy, and Kim Kerschen, academic coordinator in agronomy.
L’Ecuyer took second place overall individual in the contest. Bramhall was 6th and Sudbeck placed 10th overall individual.
The competition was held over two days at the Temora Agricultural Innovation Centre, managed by FarmLink. The contest included a seed identification section, three exams over production of selected Australian crops, commercial grading of wheat samples, a business management problem, field yield estimates and management recommendations, and a live crop, weed and disease evaluation component.
Before and after the competition, contestants also toured various research projects being conducted on site and at farms in the local area. Learning about canola and Australian white wheat production, ryegrass herbicide resistance problems, and the use of pulse crops such as lupins and fieldpeas in crop rotations were highlights for the U.S. teams.
The students also took the opportunity to learn more about Australia. The trip began with visits to popular sites in Sydney, followed by a trip to the Great Barrier Reef at Cairns. There they also visited the Atherton Tablelands region in Queensland to observe tropical agriculture including sugar cane production and a coffee plantation. On the trip to Temora, the group visited the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
After the competition, they toured Charles Sturt University and the Rhizolysimeter Center at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The trip concluded with two farm visits in the Junee area featuring mixed cropping systems integrating wheat, canola and pulse crops with pasture crops supporting sheep production.
In addition to the grant funds from the American Society of Agronomy, the trip was sponsored by the K-State Department of Agronomy. The College of Agriculture also provided international travel scholarships to the Kansas State students.
- Soil Judging Team Takes 2nd in National Competition
K-State’s Soil Judging Team won 2nd place in the “Overall Team” and 2nd place in the “Group Judging” categories at the 2017 National Collegiate Soils Contest hosted by Northern Illinois University on April 23-28 in DeKalb, Ill.
Erin Bush, graduate student from Franklin, Ind., was 2nd high individual. Chris Weber, junior from Hoxie, was 7th high individual.
Other team members include Keren Duerksen, sophomore, Newton; Jacob Reinecker, junior, Caldwell, Idaho; Logan Evers, junior, Great Bend; Tessa Zee, junior, Erie, Colo.; Tara Wilson, sophomore, Highland, Mich.; Peter Bergkamp, freshman, Garden Plain; Megan Owens, freshman, Harlan, Iowa; and Lucas Scott, freshman, Olathe.
Coach for the team is Mickey Ransom, professor of agronomy. The assistant coach is Kim Kerschen, agronomy instructor and academic coordinator.
The contest is an activity of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. Twenty-four teams from all over the U.S. participated.
- Soil Judging Team Takes Top Regional Honors
K-State’s Soil Judging Team won 1st place in the “Overall Team” and 2nd place in the “Group Judging” categories at the 2016 Region 5 Soil Judging Contest.
Erin Bush, senior from Franklin, Ind., was 2nd high individual, Jacob Reinecker, junior from, Caldwell, Ida., tied for 6th, and Logan Evers, junior from Great Bend, tied for 10th.
Other team members include: Jaret Kluender, senior, Perryville, Mo.; Benjamin Hamill, senior, Newton; Chris Weber, junior, Hoxie; Tessa Zee, junior, Erie, Colo.; Keren Duerksen, sophomore, Newton; Tara Wilson, sophomore, Highland, Mich.; Peter Bergkamp, freshman, Garden Plain; and Lucas Scott, freshman, Olathe.
The Soil Judging Team was coached by Mickey Ransom, professor of agronomy, and assistant coach, Kim Kerschen, instructor and academic coordinator in agronomy.
The contest is an activity of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America.
