April 23, 2008
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State University agronomy students recently won first and second place titles from a national agriculture competition in Texas.
The students competed in three North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) contests held April 16-18. The Iowa State team placed first in the Ag Computers Contest and second in the Crops Contest and Ag Knowledge Quiz Bowl. The team's combined efforts in the three contests resulted in a second place sweepstakes award.
Will Cornelius of Andrew was the first-place individual overall in the Ag Computers Contest. He was first in both the applications and web page design portions of the contest. Brent Lytle, Alta, placed third overall in Ag Computers capturing first place in the written exam and second place in applications. Lytle also placed third overall in the Crops Contest with a second-place score in the lab practical and fifth-place finish in the agronomy and math exams. Scott Pierce, Ogden, was fifth overall in the Crops Contest where he also won fifth place in the agronomy exam. Other team members included Matthew Dop, Monroe; Tom Schulte, Norway; Emma Flemmig, Glidden; Chuck Hrubes, Garner; and Correy Rahn, Mount Carroll, Ill.
Professors Lance Gibson and Russ Mullen coached the students. The team is sponsored by the Iowa Crop Improvement Association.
The Ag Knowledge Quiz bowl is a round-robin tournament of four-member teams answering questions on Crops/Soils, Agbusiness/Farm Management, Horticulture/Natural Resources, Ag Mechanics, Current Agricultural Events and Food Science/Nutrition.
The Ag Computers Contest evaluates knowledge of the fundamentals of computer hardware and software and consists of a written knowledge exam and applications requiring the use of spreadsheets, electronic communication, word processing and the World Wide Web.
The Crops Contest consists of a series of written, problem-solving and identification exams.
The team of agronomy undergraduates placed second in the lab practical, math, plant and seed identification and agronomic knowledge portions of the crops contest.
NACTA is a professional society that promotes the recognition of excellence in teaching agriculture and related areas at the post secondary level.