The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Crops Judging team is an extracurricular, intercollegiate contest team that competes in regional and national crops judging events.
On Feb. 14, the Nebraska team participated in the regional North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Crops Contest at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Out of the six schools competing in the four-year division, Nebraska placed fourth, just a few points behind third.
Competing for the Huskers were Maddie Weber, a senior agronomy and agricultural leadership, education and communication major, William Pirak, a sophomore agronomy and plant biology major, Ryan Groff, a sophomore agricultural economics major, and junior agronomy majors Abby Frank, Clinton Turnbull, Alex Banzhaf and Xavier Ettwein. The team coach is Garrett Kuss, a plant biology alumnus and graduate student in the Doctor of Plant Health program.
Four-year institutions competing included Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Nebraska, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Oklahoma State University and West Texas A&M University.
Crop contests typically consist of four proctored tests, each lasting one hour. The four components are crop/weed plant and seed identification; an agronomic math exam; a general agronomic knowledge exam; and a lab practical focused on real-world issues an agronomist might face.
Crops judging contests provide valuable cross-disciplinary experiences where students can both build and demonstrate practical agronomic knowledge and skills. Preparing for and competing in these events helps students broaden their understanding and strengthen their problem-solving abilities, as many contest questions and activities are modeled after professional certification programs.
Source : unl.edu