Australian Universities Crops Competition: An International Study Opportunity Provided By Reinvest ASA.

Funds provided by the Reinvest ASA program of the American Society of Agronomy have supported an international study trip to Australia in both 2015 and 2016.  The sponsored students have competed in the Australian Universities Crops Competition (AUCC) held at Temora, New South Wales, and hosted by Grain Growers of Australia.  Supported students were selected from top placing individuals in the Intercollegiate Crops Contests held in Kansas City and Chicago.  With supplemental support from other companies and commodity groups, additional students have participated.  In 2015, the USA Team was comprised of ASA supported students from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma State University.  Additional students from Virginia Tech also participated.  In 2016, the six ASA sponsored students competed on teams from Kansas State and Wisconsin-Platteville, with teams from Virginia Tech and Iowa State also attending.  Previously in 2014, with the support of the CHS Foundation, teams from Kansas State and Iowa State participated.  During travel before and after the contest, students explored cultural and scenic sites, toured research facilities, and visited farms with mixed animal and cropping systems, both irrigated and dryland.  The AUCC has consisted of several components including: business management calculations for a hypothetical farm; grain grading based on Australian standards; three exams over breeding, production, use and marketing of cereal, oilseed and pulse crops; crop identification; live crop evaluations in the field with yield estimates and identification of weeds and diseases; and a presentation on the agricultural supply chain.  In addition to competing internationally, the project has provided a great opportunity for US students to interact with Australian students and learn about Australian agriculture.  The ASA funds have been leveraged with other support to allow additional students to join.  Details about the trips with an assessment of the value of the experience will be shared.