Soil-Judging Contest
Aggies take 1st place in 2011 National soil judging team contest
(from left) Will Betts, Amanda Faust, Mike Marsicano, Coach Mike Sowers, Chris Becker
In April 2011, a group of 4 Del Val students and their coach traveled to Oregon State University to compete with roughly 200 students from about 20 colleges and universities from across the nation in a soil judging contest. Students climbed into pits to examine and describe Oregon’s soil, which contains components such as volcanic ash.
Soil judging helps determine what soil is made up of and what uses it is best suited for.
The contest brought together the best teams from the regional level. Competitors included schools such as Auburn University, Clemson University, Texas A&M, North Carolina State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Penn State.
Schools competed in two contests. In one contest, students worked as a team to identify and classify soils on the basis of characteristics. The Del Val team placed 1st in this part of the competition. In the other contest, which DelVal took sixth place in, individual scores of four team members were added together.
Larry Hepner, a faculty member in DelVal’s Natural Resources and Biosystems Management department, said Del Val is, “no stranger to the elite 21 (soil judging teams). We’ve been there a few times and in fact won the national championship in 1970.”
DelVal also won the Northeast regional soil judging contest this year.
For news coverage of the competition check out:
http://www.ktvz.com/video/27734154/index.html
http://news.opb.org/article/national-competition-digs-central-oregon-dirt/
By Annmarie Ely
AGGIES win the 2010 Northeast Regional soil judging contest
State College, PA - Delaware Valley College placed first in the 2010 Northeast Regional Soil Judging Competition. The contest was hosted by Penn State University from October 13-16, 2010. Fifty-seven students from 7 colleges/universities competed in the four day annual event. The first place victory qualifies Del Val for the National Collegiate Soil Judging Competition hosted by Oregon State University (April 26-30, 2011). Penn State University and the University of Rhode Island also qualified for the national competition with their second and third place finishes. Other colleges and university competing in the event were, the University of Maryland, Ohio State University, Wilmington College (Ohio), and the University of Maine.
The students competing in the competition for DelVal, pictured left to right, were William Betts a senior from Milton, DE majoring in Agronomy and Environmental Science (15th place) Amanda Faust, a junior from Barnsville, PA majoring in Agronomy and Environmental Science (6th place), Mike Marsciano a senior from Mountain Top, PA majoring in Agronomy and Environmental Science finished first in the individual portion of the competition, Coach Michael Sowers, and Christopher Becker a senior from Troy, PA majoring in Agronomy and Environmental Science (10th place).
The competition was a great learning experience for the students. They learned about the vast array of soils associated with the ridge and valley topography of Center County Pennsylvania. This included the clay rich soils in the limestone valleys, the colluvial soils with fragipans located along the ridges, and the alluvial soils located along the many streams and rivers that meander their way through this unique terrain.
Aggies win 2008 Northeast Regional Soil Judging Contest held in late October.
Eleven teams from seven institutions competed at the NE Regional Soil Judging Contest hosted by Delaware Valley College from October 22 - 25, 2008. The Delaware Valley College team 1 placed first, followed by the University of Rhode Island team 1 (second), University of Maryland (third), Wilmington College of Ohio team 1 (fourth), University of Maine (fifth), University of Rhode Island team 2 (sixth), Ohio State University (seventh), Wilmington College of Ohio team 2 (eighth), University of Rhode Island team 3 (ninth), Delaware Valley College team 2 (tenth) and Penn State University (eleventh).
The Delaware Valley College team 1 placed all four team members in the top ten as individuals. The individual competition was won by Dan Fenstermacher of Delaware Valley College, followed by Mike Marsicano of Delaware Valley College. Two other Delaware Valley College students placing in the top 10 were Lindsay Shrik (fifth) and Brett Treichler (seventh). The first-place finishing DelVal students who competed were: seniors Lindsay Shirk of Clear Spring, MD, majoring in agronomy and environmental science with a specialization in environmental science and Daniel Fenstermacher of Grove City, PA, a biology major; and freshmen Michael Marsicano of Wapwallopen, PA, also majoring in agronomy and environmental science with a specialization in environmental science and senior Brett Treichler of Kutztown, PA, majoring in agronomy and environmental science with a specialization in crop management.
The Group Judging portion of the contest was won by Ohio State University followed by Delaware Valley College team 1 and Wilmington College of Ohio team 1. Penn State University placed seventh in the group judging.
The top three teams consisting of Delaware Valley College team 1, University of Rhode Island team 1 and University of Maryland have qualified for the National Soil Judging Contest to be hosted by Missouri State University from March 29 - April 3, 2009 in Springfield, MO.
The NE Regional Soil Judging Contest takes place annually in the Fall. The contest rotates between the competing institutions from Maryland north to Maine and west to Ohio. In the past, the following institutions have competed: University of Maryland, Penn State University, Delaware Valley College, Cornell University, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island, University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Ohio State University and Wilmington College of Ohio. The contest tests the students' knowledge of description, classification and interpretation of soils at the host school area. It is an excellent educational opportunity for the students to learn about different soils in a field-trip format.