Decorah Iowa News

News NICC Agriculture Students Take Honors Posted 22 February 2010 Six Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) students joined nine Iowa community colleges in competition at the State Post-secondary Agriculture Students Conference from Feb. 10-12 in Iowa Falls. The NICC students competed in the College Bowl, Crop Specialist and Dairy Job Interview events at the conference, and brought home 13 total awards. Ellsworth Community College hosted this year’s conference. The five-member NICC team earned gold medals for their first place finish in the College Bowl. Team members included: Dereck Buddenberg, of Castalia, a double major student in the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) and certificate Agriculture Business programs; Kathy Nefzger, of Dyersville, Associate in Science (AS)-Dairy Science; Robert Quinnel, of Spring Grove, Minn., AAS-Agriculture Production; Kyle Wendland, of Fredericksburg, AAS-Agriculture Business; and Jerry Wulfenkuhl, of New Vienna, AAS-Agriculture Business. The NICC College Bowl team topped 13 other student teams. The College Bowl is designed to test knowledge of agricultural students against the clock. The purpose of the event is to develop students’ self-confidence, leadership and management abilities, and encourage cooperation among students. In other competition, Buddenberg, Quinnel, Wulfenkuhl and Wendland won gold and silver team medals in the state Crop Specialist contest. In this individual competition, Buddenberg earned a gold medal, Quinnel won a silver and Wendland won a bronze medal. The Crop Specialist contest places students in the role of a crop consultant who is hired to make recommendations to the grower. This event evaluates problem-solving skills, writing ability, and expertise in crop subject matter areas. NICC students score well on an annual basis at PAS state and national conferences. “This is the best we’ve ever done in the crops and college bowl contest,” said Tad Mueller, an NICC agricultural business instructor and PAS advisor. “These are sharp students, they worked hard to prepare and their efforts paid off.” This year, the National PAS Conference will be held in St. Louis, Mo., March 17-20. Katie Steinlage, an AS-Pre-Veterinary Medicine student from West Union, attended the conference and was elected to serve as president for State PAS. In her role as president, she will travel throughout Iowa to promote PAS and encourage high school students to get involved in the organization. Steinlage also competed in the Dairy Job Interview contest and received a second place medal. NICC Dairy Science students usually compete alongside their agri-business peers at conferences, but could not attend due to a scheduling conflict. Because of the conflict, the PAS organization permitted three Dairy Science teams from NICC to attend nationals next month. NICC John Deere Ag Tech students competed at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo one week prior to the State PAS Conference, received awards in the Agricultural Machinery Service Technician competition and four students will attend the national conference. The Agricultural Machinery Service Technician gauges students’ knowledge in seven farming machinery subject areas, including engines, power trains, hydraulics, electrical systems and safety and regulations. Another section of the contest evaluates students’ abilities in diagnostics and repair, troubleshooting and calibration/adjustment. Eight John Deere Ag program students competed at the state competition. Ethan Heitner, of Fort Dodge, and Michael Eivins, of Macksburg, earned a second place finish in Agricultural Machinery.  Chuck Holmberg, of Red Wing, Minn., and Jon Steffens, of Maynard, finished fourth. All four students qualified to attend nationals. Other John Deere students who attended include Robert Roe, of Mankato, Minn., Bryce Hendrick, of McCallsburg, Dan Berg, of Kenyon, Minn., and Ryan Flesch, of Potosi, Wis. PAS is an organization associated with agriculture/agribusiness and natural resources programs in approved postsecondary institutions offering associate degrees, diplomas and/or certificates. NICC agriculture programs provide a strong educational foundation for students and their future careers in agriculture. NICC receives national recognition for the number of students who graduate with AAS or AS degrees in agriculture each year. Last year, NICC ranked 18th nationally in the number of degrees conferred. NICC offers a variety of agriculture and natural resources programs. NICC’s Associate in Science programs include the Agriculture, Animal Science, Companion Animal Science, Dairy Science and Pre-Veterinary Medicine options. The college also offers Associate in Applied Science programs in Agriculture Business, Agriculture Production, Dairy Science Technology, Enology and Viticulture, and John Deere Ag Tech. In addition to these associate degrees, NICC offers several as agriculture certificate and diploma options, both face-to-face and online. For more information about agricultural programs at NICC, visit www.nicc.edu or call (563) 562-3263.

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