While Montana State University (MSU) celebrated the women’s basketball team qualifying for the NCAA March Madness, it was another March Madness competition gaining attention this week in Bozeman. Nineteen MSU College of Agriculture graduate students competed for more than $5,000 in prize monies at the second annual competition held by the Montana Wheat & Barley Committee (MWBC).
New this year were four divisions available: Masters First Year, Masters Later Year, PhD First Year* and PhD Later Year. Winners are as follows:
Held Monday, March 24, and emceed by Colter Brown of Northern Ag Network, March Madness was conducted with a Shark Tank style. Students had five minutes to pitch their projects to a panel of judges comprised of growers from across Montana. Different from their continual reviews among their scientific peers, this experience necessitated that students present their work in layman’s terms.
“One criterion is practicality of the project,” said Lori Wickett, MWBC Research and Communications Director. “This is their opportunity to convince a grower that what they are completing in the lab will make a positive impact on the farm.” Wickett added that some students have yet to be out in the farm field. “We hope the experience reveals to students how important it is to meet growers at field days, consume real-time information and think more critically about actual application processes. It should strengthen their ability to solve big issues for farmers.”
Ishita Isha accepts first place in the Masters Later Year division from MWBC Chair Terry Angvick.
Students competing in the event are largely enrolled in the Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology and the Land Resources & Environmental Sciences departments at MSU. Scoring covered project impact, communication skill, practicality and poster. Judges (comprised of six MWBC board members and three Montana Grain Growers Association [MGGA] board members) asked multiple questions of each contestant following their pitch and a packed audience was also engaged in questioning. MGGA and the Montana Grains Foundation joined MWBC in sponsorship of the event for a second year, held at the MSU Alumni Foundation.
MWBC ran Facebook Live for the entire event – you can find this recording to hear all 19 presentations on their Facebook channel. Project descriptions will be posted on the MWBC website. For more information regarding the event, email wbc@mt.gov or call 406-761-7732.