Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - University of Wisconsin-Platteville College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture crops, soils and dairy judging teams brought home awards from the annual National Judging Competition of the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) at Western Illinois University in April. The UWP crops judging team took first place as a team overall, placing higher than the University of Illinois by 85 points and Iowa State University by 93 points. The competition consisted of three phases, including identification, seed analysis and commercial grain grading. Kevin Wagner of Cuba City, Kevin Boehm of Mauston, Adam Roth of Boscobel, and Patrick Solverson of Viroqua, not only did well as a team, but individually too. Wagner placed third individually for the entire contest, as well as first in the math practical exam. Boehm placed second for the plant identification quiz and Roth placed second in the laboratory practical exam.

Coached by Professor Roger Higgs, the crops judging team has continued to grow in abilities over the years. Professor David Kopsell assisted Higgs in preparing the students for events this semester. "The results really say a lot about our students and the preparation time and effort they put into it," says Kopsell. "Dr. Higgs does a fantastic job at setting up practices and presenting the materials to learn in manageable blocks and groups." For the third year in a row, the UWP soils team has taken the first place award in the NACTA competition. Competing against seven other schools, UWP's team with Katie Trifone of Dubuque, Iowa; Jeremy Flikkema of Lanark, Ill.; Bryan Schoeny of Shannon, Ill.; Alyson Leahy of Shullsburg; and Ben Ritchie of Darlington; once again successfully competed in order to take home the title. Individual high scorers were Trifone in first, Flikkema in second, and Schoeny in third. "I'm very proud of the NACTA soils team's results this year," relays Professor Chris Baxter, coach of UWP's soils team. "This is only the second competition for most of the team members and the first contest for our newest team member. I am fortunate to have a bright and eager-to-learn group of students that seem to catch onto the concepts of soils very easily."

The dairy judging team also did well at the competition that consisted of judging 10 classes of dairy cows and heifers. Team members included Scott Jeanquart of Forestville; Gary McCarthy of Wauzeka; David Vanderstappen of Hebron, Ill.; and Carl Weier of Dodgeville. Dominating many of the aspects of the competition, the UWP Dairy Team placed first in judging the Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Holstein, and Jersey breeds, as well as placing first in the reasons section and the overall competition in general. In addition, UWP placed second in judging the Milking Shorthorn breed of dairy cows and heifers as well. Individual placements in the competitions include: Vanderstappen placing third overall in the Ayrshire breed, second with Brown Swiss, second with Holsteins, third with the Jerseys, third in the reasons section and he also was the second high scoring individual in the entire competition. Jeanquart placed first with the Brown Swiss, third with the Holsteins, second with the Jersey breed, third in the Milking Shorthorn breed, first under the reasons section, and he was named the top individual in the entire contest. Weier placed third in the Brown Swiss breed and McCarthy placed as the third high individual in the contest as well. "These types of activities help open doors for future job opportunities," indicated Professor Michael Mee, UWP Dairy Team coach. "My students who compete in contests usually end up working for dairy cattle associations or companies after graduation. Competitions are a great experience for them."

Contact: Jodi McDermott, agricultural student coordinator, (608) 342-1366,mcdermoj@uwplatt.edu

Prepared by: Marsha Pauly, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, paulym@uwplatt.edu