WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN STATEWIDE TROUBLESHOOTING CONTEST FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Four Iowa Lakes Students won trophies at the state Postsecondary Ag Student Troubleshooting contest last month in Emmetsburg

Bryce Hoffert of Emmetsburg and Chris Kipfer of Spencer, took first place in the state, while William Davenport of Thayer and Brain Koster of Breda ranked third in the competition.

Hoffert and Kipfer are sophomores in the Farm Equipment and Diesel Technology programs at Iowa Lakes. They will advance to the national competition in Dallas, Texas, in March. The duo also went to nationals last year and hopes to beat their sixth-place finish from then.

This is the fourth time in four years that Iowa Lakes has sent students to the national troubleshooting competition

The Postsecondary Ag Student (PAS) contest is a program of the FFA.

Students had to take a 100-question written test as well as identify parts, conduct small projects and then troubleshoot equipment.

Students in the Farm Equipment and Diesel Technology program receive an Associate in Applied Science degree upon graduation from Iowa Lakes.

Several area dealers assisted with this year’s contest which was hosted at the Emmetsburg Campus of Iowa Lakes Community College. The following companies provided equipment for the competition: JB Mertz Implement of West Bend provided an 8130 John Deere Tractor and judge Tony Bonstetter; Spencer International provided a Case-IH tractor and a Puma 180; along with providing a staff person to judge, Roger Meyer; Iowa Lakes Community College provided an 8430, a 7320 John Deere tractor, and one Gator; Alta Implement furnished a L160 Skidloader; and, Ziegler supplied a Cat MT765B, along with a judge Heath Miller.

The event was coordinated this year by Iowa Lakes instructors Dan Bredeson and Troy Kleve of the Farm Equipment and Diesel Technology program at Iowa Lakes. Other instructors at the event included Matt Bohl and Shane Conley, as well Stacy Bohl of Iowa Lakes.