Crops Judging Contest
PUT YOUR CROP AND SEED IDENTIFICATION SKILLS TO THE TEST.
Show off your plant identification and problem solving skills in the 2024 SASES Crops Judging Contest! The contest is scheduled to occur Tuesday morning of the Annual Meeting, and is designed to give students the opportunity to hone their agronomic field skills alongside crop science and management professionals.
I’m just interested in… Scoring - Lab Practical - Plant & Seed ID - Agronomic Problem Solving - Contact - (Click to jump to a section)
2024 Contest Guidelines
Purpose
This contest provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to practice agronomic skills and receive feedback from industry agronomists. Contestants are highly encouraged to participate in other crops judging contests taking place year-round.
Awards and Recognition
First Place Team: $400
Individuals:
| 1st Place: $350 | 2nd Place: $300 | 3rd Place: $250 |
| 4th Place: $200 | 5th Place: $150 | 6th Place: $100 |
Eligibility
All contestants must be currently enrolled in a SASES institution in good standing. Upon registration, a contestant number will be assigned to be used for identification on all answer forms. All registration will be by individuals. No more than 10 contestants may be entered from any one school.
Participation
Any student wishing to participate must sign up on or before Oct. 16, 2024.
Judging
Contest forms will be graded by members of the AC449.13 committee and additional representatives appointed by the chair. All decisions made by the graders will be final and not open for debate.
Rules and Procedures
- No communication with contestants or anyone else, except supervisors, will be permitted upon start of contest.
- Coaches may not communicate with teams until the contest has finished.
- No cell phones, text messaging, or conferring during the contest will be allowed. Violation will result in disqualification.
- Bring a pencil, hand-held calculator, clipboard, and if desired, a magnifying lens to identification portion of contest. Programmable calculators must be cleared of programs and unable to receive messages.
- All necessary information and materials will be provided, including a list for plant/seed identification, insects, and diseases. Contestants may not bring notes or reference material of any kind.
- While monitors will be assigned to each section, Club Advisors and Certified Crop Advisors will be asked to help conduct the contest and score papers.
Tie Breakers: Ties will be broken using the following contest sections: Lab Practical scores, Plant and Seed Identification scores, and Agronomic Problem-Solving scores.
Announcements made on contest day will take precedent over published rules.
Scoring: Three categories with 150 total points
- Lab Practical – 50 pts
- Plant and Seed Identification – 50 pts
- Agronomic Problem Solving – 50 pts
30 minutes will be allowed for completion of each section. Official contest rules and descriptions for each section follow.
Lab Practical
25 stations worth 2 points each (50 pts).
Each station will have photographs or samples of crop or weed plants, plant parts, growth stages, field problems, nutrient deficiencies, herbicide injury symptoms, fertilizers, pesticides, seed samples, pesticide labels, seed bags, data tables, equipment, insects, diseases, etc.
Questions may require identification, interpretation, calculation, or evaluation of the display material to answer correctly.
These stations represent common activities in laboratory classes, including crop scouting, investigating agronomic production problems, or field trips in crop production/soil management courses. For example, contestants may have to:
- Identify common crop diseases and symptoms (see attached list, to be provided during contest)
- Identify common crop insects and damage (see attached list, to be provided during contest)
- Identify/describe common crop production and soil management practices from photos, illustrations, or displays.
- Evaluate various crop production or soil health problems from photos, illustrations, or displays.
- Identify specific plant and seed structures, crop growth stages, or developmental characteristics on plant samples or photos.
- Recognize common nutrient deficiency symptoms (N, P, K, S, Fe) on both dicot and grass crops.
- Recognize common herbicide injury symptoms on weeds and crops.
- Read/interpret information from a commercial seed bag (germination, purity, seed size, noxious weeds, variety or hybrid identification, genetically modified traits, refuge requirements, seed treatments applied, recommended seeding rates, planter adjustments, recognize classes of pedigreed seed from standard color of tags, etc.).
- Interpret information on insecticide, fungicide, or herbicide label, including composition of active ingredients, common/chemical names, formulation, agricultural use requirements, precautionary statements, environmental restrictions, and recommended rates/application requirements for use on specific crops and/or soils.
- Describe common fertilizer carriers (major nutrient supplied, typical analysis, common name) and interpret information on a fertilizer bag.
- Recognize common pesticide formulations and standard abbreviations.
- Determine proper sprayer nozzle tip size and type, screens, pressure, etc. for pesticide applications.
- Identify and explain the purpose of items such as agricultural lime, inoculum, seed treatments, soil amendments, etc.
- Use a soil textural triangle to name soil textural class.
- Determine soil texture by feel, distinguish between types of soil structure, relate soil color to properties.
- Interpret information found in soil test report.
- Identify stored/processed crop products and common livestock feed crop ingredients (silage type, hay type, alfalfa pellets/cines, soybean meal, cottonseed meal/hulls, wheat bran, corn meal, beet pulp, dried distillers’ grains, flaked or ground grains, etc.).
- Match various food and/or industrial products with the crops (or classes) from which they are made.
- Evaluate crop quality by ranking two or more samples of hay, silage, seed, cotton. Give typical levels for quality factors in grain/forage crops (protein content, oil content, etc.).
- Write commercial grade and determining factors for market grain samples given quality factors and official FGIS grain standard tables.
- Interpret data from tables or graphs (i.e. analyze a variety trial based on LSD mean comparison statistic, select proper spray nozzle tip for given conditions from manufacturer’s spraying equipment manual, read a calibration nomograph for a sprayer or planter, interpret crop yield response to different input levels, determine economic threshold from pest counts vs yield response)
Crop and Weed: Plant and Seed Identification
25 specimens worth 2 points each (50 pts).
Plants and seeds will be identified by common name as given on the official identification list provided to each contestant.
- Crop and weed plants will be shown either fresh or as dried and pressed samples.
- Crop and weed identification materials will be selected from the official identification list. Items are marked with a (p) for plants that may be shown in the flowering to mature plant stage, (v) for plants that may be shown in the vegetative stage, and (s) if seed identification is required.
- Sample specimens may not be moved. Live plants may be touched carefully to aid in identification but must not be damaged by contestant or disqualification may result. Dried plant specimens cannot be touched. Seeds may be rearranged in their place but may not be removed from containers.
Agronomic Problem Solving
This section will require evaluation of provided materials and background information to either make calculations or recommendations for a hypothetical crop in a given system and location.
- Materials may include crop consultant reports, cropping system in use, tillage history, previous crop production history, soil test reports, hybrid/variety descriptions, plant analysis reports, GPS produced yield maps, other GIS data for development of precision-based recommendations, remotely sensed data or maps, climatic data (precipitations, temperature, average frost dates, etc.), seed, chemical, soil amendment and nutrient application history for current and prior years.
- Costs for inputs and management practices may be provided along with expected crop prices.
- Recommendations required may include crop hybrid/variety selection, planting dates/equipment, seed treatments, tillage and cultivation required (including seasonal period), crop rotation/system adjustments, irrigation scheduling, pest management, and all soil amendment, nutrient and pesticide applications (products, application method/time).
- For seed/other soil, plant inputs, calculation of correct rates will be required.
- Calibration of actual equipment or calibration problems may be required.
- Predicted maturity rates and yield estimates may have to be calculated.
- An economic analysis of expected profit/loss based on yield predictions may also be required.
Contact
Contest Chair
Lauren Schwarck
ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Contact
Congratulations to the 2024 Winners!
Team 1st Place: Badger Crops Club, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Individuals 1st Place: Rianne Wagner, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Individuals 2nd Place: Cade Halbrook, Oklahoma State University
Individuals 3rd Place: Derek Gehin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Individuals 4th Place: Jason Emsweller, Purdue University
Individuals 5th Place: Carissa Sohm, Kansas State University
Individuals 6th Place: Lakin Giager, Kansas State University
Congratulations to the 2023 Winners!
Team 1st Place: Wheat State Agronomy Club, Kansas State University
Individuals 1st Place: Jake Roden, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Individuals 2nd Place: Landon Trout, Kansas State University
Individuals 3rd Place: Grand DeBruin, Ohio State University
Individuals 4th Place: Ike Bahr, Kansas State University
Individuals 5th Place: Ashley Chandler, Kansas State University
Individuals 6th Place: Daniel Zhu, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Contact:
Chair
Lance Gibson
lance.gibson@corteva.com
