10/18/99

Contacts:
Jon Sandor, Agronomy, 515/294-2209
Susan Thompson, Agriculture Information, 515/294-0705

ISU STUDENTS TAKE FIRST PLACE IN SOIL JUDGING CONTEST

AMES, Iowa -- An Iowa State University student team took first place in the American Society of Agronomy Region 5 soil judging contest. Seven Midwest university teams competed in the contest Sept. 27-Oct.1, hosted by Kansas State University. The first place finish earned the team the right to compete in the national contest at the University of Idaho next spring.

The team members were Brian Hill, Deloit; Maya Kuratomi, Sacramento, Calif.; Chris and Dustin Matthiesen, both of Bryant; Leigh Ann Rice, Storm Lake; DeAnn Ricks, Altoona; and Matt Scuffham, Algona. Four of the ISU students placed in the top 10 of the 47 individual contestants. Hill placed second, Ricks placed third, Rice placed fifth and Chris Matthiesen took 10th place. The team was coached by Skye Wills, graduate student in agronomy, and Jon Sandor, professor of agronomy.

The contest area was in the Flint Hills region on a farm and ranch north of Manhattan, Kan. During the contest, students wrote detailed descriptions of the soil layers, classified the soils, determined the geological characteristics of the site, made topographic and hydrologic measurements and interpreted soil properties for agricultural and engineering land use.

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