Kansas State wins 2025 national crops contests

Kansas State University took first place in both the Kansas City American Royal Collegiate Crops Contest and the Chicago CME Collegiate Crops Contests in November 2025. At Kansas City, Iowa State University placed second and the University of Wisconsin–Platteville third. At Chicago, the University of Wisconsin–Platteville placed second and South Dakota State University third.

The top individuals overall in Kansas City were:

1. Abe Dieleman, Iowa State
2. Karlie Albright, Kansas State
3. Collin Mills, Kansas State
4. Ella Pachta, Kansas State
5. Anna Koehler, Wisconsin–Platteville
6. Sydney Rider, Wisconsin–Platteville
7. John Graeve, Iowa State
8. Evan Olson, South Dakota State
9. Teryn Close, Iowa State
10. Alexa Blume, South Dakota State
     

At Chicago, the top individuals were:

1. Karlie Albright, Kansas State
2. Abe Dieleman, Iowa State
3. Collin Mills, Kansas State
4. Ella Pachta, Kansas State
5. Anna Koehler, Wisconsin–Platteville
6. Reagan Riggs, Virginia Tech
7. Sydney Rider, Wisconsin–Platteville
8. Steven Bachelor, Oklahoma State
9. Alexa Blume, South Dakota State
10. Lily Green, South Dakota State
     

In the three contest components, Karlie Albright (Kansas State) took first place in both Plant and Seed Identification and Seed Analysis at Kansas City while Abe Dieleman (Iowa State) was first in Grain Grading. At Chicago, Albright took first in all three components.     

Sponsors and tours

American Royal coordinated the Kansas City contest with Corteva Agriscience as the primary sponsor. Additional sponsors were Stine Seed, CHS, the American Seed Trade Association, the Association of Official Seed Analysts, and the South Dakota Crop Improvement Association. Team scholarships were provided for the top five teams in Kansas City.

The pre-contest tour visited the new American Royal facilities under construction, the Federal Reserve Bank Money Museum, Bartlett, and Holganix. The contest was hosted by the Federal Grain Inspection Service at the National Grain Center while the tour lunch and awards banquet were held at the American Royal facilities. 

The CME Group was the major sponsor in Chicago, and the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists provided support for the awards. The top five individuals in Chicago received scholarships from CME Group. 

The Chicago contest was hosted at CME Global Headquarters. Contestants stayed at Loyola University Water Tower campus, and the awards ceremony was held at Giordano’s Pizza. 

Support for both contests was also provided by ASA and CSSA. The South Dakota State University Seed Testing Lab prepared the contest materials for both events.