Four graduate students in the NDSU Department of Plant Sciences received awards at the 2018 North Central Weed Science Society Collegiate Weed Science Contest held July 26 at Gothenburg, Nebraska. The event was for graduate and undergraduate students in the North Central Weed Science Society and the Western Society of Weed Science, of which NDSU is a member school.

The contest offers weed science students an educational and networking experience and opportunities to apply their weed science knowledge in real-world scenarios. It consists of four events: weed identification, herbicide application technology, identification of unknown herbicides and problem solving and recommendation. 

Points earned count toward individual and team scores.

Nathan Haugrud, from Rothsay, Minnesota, won first place individual in the Western division graduate sections for written calibration and agronomic problem solving.

The NDSU graduate team, made up of master’s degree students Matthew Brooke, from Dickinson, North Dakota; Haugrud; Kelly Satrom, from Galesburg, North Dakota; and Nickolas Theisen, from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, placed third overall out of five Western division schools.

Brooke and Theisen are advised by Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, professor and assistant department head of plant sciences. Haugrud is advised by Tom Peters, Extension agronomist and assistant professor, and Satrom is advised by Kirk Howatt, undergraduate program coordinator and associate professor.

Undergraduate students who also attended the contest were Mackenzie Derry, Jacob Eberle, Jewel Faul and Charles Tvedt.

Howatt and Haugrud organized the trip for the NDSU students and held study sessions during the summer to help the students prepare. More than $1,000 was raised from private industry to help fund the trip. The team thanks Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, Monsanto, BASF and Gregory Dahl for donating funds toward the trip.

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