Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024, the North Dakota State University Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABEN) Department will host a kickoff celebration in February! R.C. Miller first organized the Agricultural Engineering Department in 1924 as a degree-granting department.

The kickoff of the 100th anniversary celebration of the ABEN Department’s formation will be held during the Agricultural Technology Exposition banquet at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

During the 76th annual Agricultural Technology Exposition, students present on a topic related to technology within the agricultural industry. The Expo concludes with an evening banquet, with an invited speaker and the presentation of Expo awards.

This year’s speakers, Elton Solseng and Vernon Hofman, who are both retired ABEN faculty members, will give presentations on 100 years of the ABEN Department.

The dinner will be $25 per person, with proceeds going to fund a departmental scholarship.

Those who are interested in attending the Expo banquet and kickoff celebration should RSVP at https://forms.gle/CHC4uTjCKDRdsJMj7 by Thursday, February 1.

This is one of three main events planned in 2024 to mark the ABEN centennial, with commemorative keychains being developed to commemorate the anniversary.

Since 1924, the ABEN Department has provided students with the tools and knowledge to develop new technology and apply the science and expertise of agricultural engineering in a variety of settings related to agriculture. In addition, ABEN Department members with Extension responsibilities have provided invaluable training, education and assistance to constituents around the state and the country.

As the ABEN Department moves into its second century of service, we want to forge even more awareness of our history by telling our story. We welcome and encourage your help to shape and tell the story of our department by sharing historic or current photos, along with a brief description. Those may be emailed to emily.schwengler@ndsu.edu.

The North Dakota State University (NDSU) Bison Pullers steered into a first-place finish in the durability category during the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Ill. The team also earned third place in overall performance across all events.

Team members are Evan Oberg, Robert Stephany, Michael Ritchie, Nathan Schilling, Lawson Kraft, Emma Arstein, Brandon Kasper and Nicholas Kuhlmann. 

This year’s participants came from across the United States and Canada. Sponsored by ASABE, the quarter-scale tractor contest is unique among student engineering-design events, providing a realistic 360-degree workplace experience. It is a popular recruiting event for many sponsors, who find practiced, high-achieving prospects with strong technical, communication and leadership skills honed by competition experience.

The 2023 contest was held June 1-5 at the Peoria Expo Gardens in Peoria, Ill. The contest is a longtime tradition, with NDSU competing for about the past 24 years.

The Bison Pullers, which is an ASABE-sanctioned quarter-scale pulling tractor organization on the NDSU campus, competes each year in the event.

The organization’s goal is for juniors and seniors to design, construct and compete with a quarter-scale tractor for the A-team competition. The X team of freshmen and sophomores can bring back the tractor from the previous year with 20% updates/modification.

Other typical activities include fundraising for support from outside sources, public service, promotion of ASABE, presentation of the quarter-scale tractor at campus functions and more.

But it’s the quarter-scale tractor build that draws the attention.

Teams of students are provided with a 31-horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine and a set of Titan tires. The design of their tractor is up to them. Industry experts then judge each design for innovation, manufacturability, serviceability, safety, sound level and ergonomics. Teams also submit a written design report, and they sell their design in a formal presentation to industry experts playing the role of a corporate management team. Finally, machines are put to the test in three performance events – three tractor pulls, a maneuverability course and a durability course.

The durability course is a timed event through an oval course of bumps and loose soil while towing a weighted cart. Teams compete in the timed event by individually completing a quantity of laps in rough conditions, loose soil conditions and flat dirt.

Any interested students in good standing with NDSU can join. All experience and skill levels are welcome.

The Bison Pullers meet at the service center/pilot plant most Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters at 5:30 p.m. They also have large group meetings at least once a month at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

Advisor Matt Olhoft encourages incoming students to join.

“First, you get to know the older students on a personal basis, which is always beneficial,” he says. “And it’s a way for them to practice those skills they’re learning in the classroom. … When you do a whole project from start to finish, you learn a lot.”

“They get to practice engineering skills. They use a CAD program to design the whole tractor and they also conduct a stress analysis of the different parts of the tractor to look for any kind of failure points before they actually make the tractor,” he describes.

Fabrication skills are also involved, shaping the steel and welding it together.

“Then, of course, there’s good old trial-and-error,” he says.

The Bison Pullers club members are highly employable, he points out.

Alumni working at agricultural manufacturing facilities who participated when they were students understand the devotion given and experience gained for the Bison Pullers, he says.

“Those former alumni can really appreciate those current students who are doing this. It is a big deal when they apply for jobs and they have that on their resume and their future employer recognizes that. It does move them to the top of the list,” he says.

Other advisors are Dr. Sulaymon Eshkabilov and Brian Gregor.

Sean Hertz knows about adversity. He’s watched family members suffer the consequences of drought and tanked commodity prices. But the 23-year-old is returning as the fifth generation of family farmers with confidence, after obtaining a degree in agricultural systems management (ASM) through North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Sean now farms alongside his parents, Shane and Stacey Hertz, as one of several young farmers and ranchers who have returned to their roots in Hettinger County.

Sean graduated from Mott-Regent High School in 2017, then graduated in December 2020 from NDSU with a degree in agricultural systems management and minors in crop and weed science and agribusiness. Everyone needs to make the decision about attending college themselves, he says, but he gained from his college experience.

“I went into it with the mindset that I wanted to get something out of it,” he says. And with the ASM major, he had the flexibility to obtain two minors.

“I got a really broad range of classes, from taking a bunch of marketing classes to help with marketing our grain or taking welding classes to improve my welding skills or going to a crop scouting seminar and getting my private applicator’s license,” he says.

Sean first learned about the degree from an upperclassman from Mott.

“It really just kind of sparked my interest and sounded like something that would fit me really well,” he said. “I was drawn to ag systems management, mostly because of how versatile (the ASM program) was.”

Sean points to the senior capstone class, in which his project focused on farming succession, as another valuable class at NDSU.

To transition into the family farm, Sean is currently farming his own land to establish himself, then plans to eventually be melded into the whole operation, and he will rely on information from his senior capstone class project to guide him during that transition.

“When it’s my turn to take over the operation, I think (the ASM senior capstone) will come in handy,” he says. “I’m slowly starting to branch off onto my own, taking a few acres here and there.”

Sean also branched out beyond his department to take versatile, hands-on courses, including a welding course, to gain more experience with state-of-the-art equipment.

“There are countless other classes you can mix in with your course load,” he says.

Connecting with other young farmers in college was another advantage, he says.

“Being around a lot of like-minded young farmers and seeing their perspectives was kind of eye-opening. Being in Fargo and being around some Red River Valley farmers, who had totally different views on farming than we do, overall was a really good experience just to broaden my knowledge base,” Sean says.

During college, Sean served as president of the Agricultural Systems Management Club, which was another valuable networking tool for him, even though it wasn’t part of the course load.

“I had a really good time with that and I met a lot of lifelong friends through the club,” he says. “There are aspects of that club that I use to this day as well.”

Sean’s father, Shane, also sees Sean’s college education as a valuable asset to the family farm.

“I think you have to constantly be learning,” Sean says. “My classes at NDSU and in ag systems management really made me look through a different angle on what I’m doing when I’m farming. … You start focusing on returns on investments and you look at tractors based on when you should be buying and selling based off of when their value is the greatest and when you’re going to start losing your return on them. I think I started looking at things a little differently than before I went to NDSU.”

As Sean harvests corn on the family farm which dates back to 1905, he encourages others to pursue an NDSU degree through the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

“Give it a shot. At least take a tour, talk with some of the professors. There are some really good professors that I had at my time there. There’s a lot of them I would consider a friend now, and someone I could call if I had a question and I know they would help me out,” he says. “Go see what it’s all about and then you can make that decision for yourself.”

Sean points to his grandfathers and parents as role models, with memories of tinkering in the farm shop with his maternal grandfather, Ray Zent.

“I had a lot of fun doing that with him and I remember riding with my Grandpa Milt in the combine and my parents when they were seeding. A lot of things that I do I trace back to specific situations watching them and now trying to do hopefully as good as they did it,” he says.

Ian Swenson isn’t a “farm kid,” but with a passion for engineering, he intends to make a difference in the agricultural industry nonetheless.

“I think a lot of people come into it with a farming background, but I think as long as you have a passion for food, biomaterials, machinery or technology, and you work hard in the major and your degree, you’ll be just fine,” he said.

A graduate of West Fargo High School, the freshman is majoring in agricultural engineering through North Dakota State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Through his Boy Scout troop, Swenson personally knows Julie Bietz, the student coordinator for the department, who mentioned the degree option to him.

“She knew I had a passion for engineering, so she suggested it to me,” he said.

“Agricultural engineering is something unique and there’s a lot of opportunity for graduates to work with machinery, processing and natural resources. So, I thought it would be an interesting major and career,” he said.

As a native of West Fargo, NDSU’s proximity was also a factor in his decision.

“NDSU also has a really good agricultural engineering program, and I thought that was a big bonus,” he said.

Swenson is also a research assistant for Dr. Dean Steele, an associate professor in the NDSU Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, who is doing research using soil moisture sensors.

“I think it’s going well so far. I like working with him,” Swenson said.

With that experience and hands-on classroom projects, Swenson is confident his degree will lead him to a fulfilling career.

“I think I’d eventually like to end up either working on design or working on production and manufacturing someplace in the Fargo area,” he said.

While Karson Matejcek’s career path points him back to the family farm near Brocket, having a college degree in his pocket beforehand will be a valuable tool.

A graduate of Lakota High School, the freshman is majoring in agricultural systems management through North Dakota State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

He learned about the degree opportunity from other NDSU students, and his older brother attended the University of Minnesota Crookston to obtain a similar degree.

“I learned about the major through my brother and talking to others in the program at NDSU. They spoke highly of it,” he said.

He felt the degree will give him options for the future, as well.

“After looking into it, I decided it was a good choice, because I could use it if I come back to our family farm. Or, if that opportunity wasn’t there, I could go out and easily get a job doing a lot of other things, whether at an equipment dealership or feed sales or chemical sales,” he said.

He decided to attend college at the encouragement of his father.

“My dad wanted me to get the experience, and it’s good to have that backup plan in place,” he said.

He looks forward to hands-on opportunities in the classroom, particularly classes from Matthew Olhoft, a senior lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

A course focusing on flying drones commercially is being offered for the first time this fall through the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU).

The course, Precision Agriculture 291, “Drone Pilots for Agricultural Operations” is new this semester as a trial course in the Precision Ag curriculum. The course is taught by Dr. Nadia Delavarpour, a post-doctoral research assistant, under the supervision of Dr. Paulo Flores, an assistant professor.

As pilots send unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) skyward for commercial use, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements must be met.

That UAS flight requires more than just the pilot wearing those cool sunglasses.

So, the course’s objective is to give an in-depth, hands-on opportunity for students to prepare themselves to take and pass the FAA Part 107 commercial drone pilot’s license test.

That includes how to get detailed information regarding air spaces, air space classifications, applicable regulations for each classification, preparing certain FAA reports, operating requirements, flight restrictions, weather and other topics.

“We go through all the aeronautical knowledge topics created by the FAA,” Delavarpour said.

The class also includes two field experiences for students to fly drones. One includes a session during which the students fly the drones manually without apps or software, while the second session allows students to fly the drones autonomously using apps without human interference.

Students in the precision ag degree program take classes related to data mapping, remote data analysis and site-specific agriculture using aerial data collection, such as drone imagery, but that data must first be collected through unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) applications.

“With the use of drones, it is possible to get an overview of fields and collect data much faster and more efficiently than traditional methods. The basic need is to be able to gather the data for this purpose,” she said.

Besides the agricultural domain, drones are being used in many different applications, including wildlife and historical conservation, construction, surveillance and in the military, which has brought students from many different backgrounds and departments, Delavarpour said.

Students in the class are currently enrolled from computer science, agricultural and biosystems engineering, ag systems management, precision ag and general agriculture.

Pilots flying drones heavier than 55 pounds or flying commercially must have a license. Farmers using drones for spraying must also obtain certain waivers and permissions.

“Some people think just purchasing the drone and getting the license will be enough to do any kind of operation, but it’s not like that,” she said.

“This course is to make sure nobody is violating any rules and regulations and to ensure the remote pilot in command understands the regulations, operating requirements and procedures for safely flying drones for the drone itself and for people who are in the area of operation,” Delavarpour said.

According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the drone industry is expected to create more than 100,000 jobs and provide more than $82 billion in economic impact by 2025 in the United States.