Justin Goodroad, a senior from Lindstrom, MN, Member of U of M Crookston NACTA Team Winning Sweepstakes at 2014 Judging Conference

2014 May 16

For the second year in a row, the University of Minnesota Crookston team competing at the annual North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) brought home the sweepstakes in the four-year college division.

The win included a number of first place finishes.

Individuals finishing first included Eric Derosier, a senior from Red Lake Falls, Minn., majoring in agricultural business finished first in the contests in ag business, ag communications, and ag computers; Emily Goff, a senior majoring in equine science from Danvers, Minn., finished first in the livestock management contest; Justin Goodroad, a senior from Lindstrom, Minn., majoring in horticulture finished first in the contest in horticulture; Sarah Morris, a senior majoring in animal science from Ramsey, Minn., finished first in the contest in meats; Travis Duresky, a senior majoring in ag systems management finished first in the ag mechanics contest; and Emily Campbell, a junior majoring in animal science from Aitkin, Minn., finished first in the dairy contest.

The teams in horticulture, dairy, livestock management, ag mechanics, and ag computers finished in first place.

Justin Goodroad, a senior majoring in Horticulture from Lindstrom, MN, competed in Dairy; Horticulture.

The judging conference was held at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Mo., April 10-12, 2014.

Students began preparing for the contests in November and are allowed to compete only one time per contest with the exception of soils which allows a student to compete twice. The contests are hands-on and the judging contests, like those in crops, dairy, and livestock, require the student to both rank and provide reasons for their decisions. The NACTA Team raises its own funding in order to participate in the competition.

Background

NACTA is dedicated to advancing the scholarship of teaching and learning in the agricultural, environmental, natural, and life sciences. NACTA competitions have been held since 1957 and involve knowledge and skills contests covering various agricultural topics. The competition is rigorous, including college and university students from all across the nation. To learn more, visit www.nactateachers.org.