Iowa State, Kansas State Split 2022 National Crops Contests

The national collegiate crops contests were completed during the week of 14–19 Nov. 2022.

Kansas State University took first place at the Kansas City American Royal Collegiate Crops Contest while Iowa State University received top honors at the Chicago Collegiate Crops Contest. In Kansas City, Iowa State University took second and the University of Minnesota–Crookston third while in Chicago, Kansas State University took second and the University of Wisconsin–Platteville third.

Top Individuals

The top individuals overall in Kansas City were:
1. Ellie Braun, Kansas State University
2. Megan Blauwet, Iowa State University
3. Ashley Chandler, Kansas State University
4. Jarek Meyer, Kansas State University
5. Alex Coughlin, Iowa State University
6. Ben Olander, University of Minnesota–Crookston
7. Tom Thompson, Iowa State University
8. Mandi Schick, University of Wisconsin–Platteville
9. Hannah Lemke, University of Wisconsin–Platteville
10. Ciera Kotaska, University of Minnesota–Crookston

At Chicago, the top individuals were:

1. Megan Blauwet, Iowa State University
2. Alex Coughlin, Iowa State University
3. Ashley Chandler, Kansas State University
4. Ellie Braun, Kansas State University
5. Jarek Meyer, Kansas State University
6. Tom Thompson, Iowa State University
7. Ben Olander, University of Minnesota–Crookston
8. Hannah Lemke, University of Wisconsin–Platteville
9. Mandi Schick, University of Wisconsin–Platteville
10. Emily McHugo, University of Minnesota–Crookston

First-place individuals in the three contest components in Kansas City were Ellie Braun from Kansas State University in Plant and Seed Identification, Megan Blauwet from Iowa State University in Seed Analysis, and Jarek Meyer from Kansas State University in Grain Grading. At Chicago, first place went to Ashley Chandler from Kansas State University in Identification, Alex Coughlin from Iowa State University in Seed Analysis, and Megan Blauwet from Iowa State University in Grain Grading.

Sponsors and Tours

The American Royal coordinated the Kansas City contest with Corteva Agriscience as the primary sponsor. Additional sponsors were the Association of Official Seed Analysts, CHS Foundation, and the Dakota Crop Improvement Association. Team scholarships were provided for the top five teams in Kansas City. The pre-contest tour visited the Federal Grain Inspection Service, Innerspace Storage, Strawberry Hill Baking Company, and J. Rieger & Co. Distillery. The tour lunch and awards banquet were held at the American Royal facilities. 

The primary sponsor of the Chicago contest was the CME Group. Additional donors Chicago included Growmark Cooperative, the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists, and Syngenta. The top five individuals received scholarships from CME Group.

A pre-contest tour was held in Chicago at Omni Ecosystems and focused on rooftop growing systems and urban agriculture. The contest and awards banquet were held at the Loyola University Water Tower campus in Chicago. 

Support for both contests were also provided by ASA and CSSA. The Federal Grain Inspection Service and the South Dakota Seed University Seed Testing Lab prepared the contest materials for both events.