CANYON, Texas – Northeast Community College students finished in third place in the sweepstakes for two-year colleges at the 2025 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Judging Conference.
Blackhawk College (Ill.) won with the highest team score for two-year colleges, while Modesto Junior College (Calif.) was second.
Northeast was one of 22 community colleges and 32 four-year teams to compete in the April 9- 2 conference held at West Texas A & M University in Canyon, Texas.
Northeast placed first overall in the Agribusiness Contest. Team members included Barrett Andel, an Agronomy and Agribusiness major from David City, Grant Arens, an Agronomy major from Laurel, Dillon Dubbs, an Agronomy major from Wood River, and Branden Monke, an Agronomy and Agribusiness major from Arlington.
Individually, in the overall competition, Andel placed first, Monke was second, and Dubbs was third.
In the Agriculture Communications Contest, team members were Arens, Tamryn Klein, an Animal Science and Agribusiness major from Wolbach, Kali Mangelsen, an Animal Science major from Norfolk, and Hadley Vaness, an Agribusiness major from Wausa. The team placed second overall.
In the Agriculture Computers Contest, team members were Precision Agriculture majors Brayden Brabec from Clarkson, Brady Cook from Belgrade, Kaden Gehring from Platte Center, and Mechanized Agriculture major Brennen Heimes from Wynot. The team placed second overall. Individually, Heimes placed third overall.
In the Agriculture Education Contest, the team of Horticulture and Golf Course Management majors Brooke Brengelman from Albion and Beau Jensen from Holdrege, along with Mangelsen and Vaness, placed third overall.
In the Ag Mechanics Contest, Northeast placed third. Team members included Mechanized Agriculture majors JD Bergin from Tenino, Washington, Cohen Grossart from Wolbach, Brennan Heimes from Wynot and Ryan McNaught from Polk.
In the Crops Contest, team members were Andel, Dubbs, Monke, and Rylyn Nelson, an Agriculture Transfer major from Howells. The team placed first on the Agronomic quiz portion of the contest, and was second on the Math Practical, Plant and Seed Identification, Lab Practical, and Overall.
Individually, Andel placed first on the agronomic quiz, second on the math practical and overall, and fifth on the plant and seed identification. Monke placed first on the math practical and third on the agronomic quiz, plant and seed identification, lab practical and overall. Dubbs placed fourth on the agronomic quiz, plant and seed identification, and lab practical.
Also participating in the Crops Contest was Jesse Steffen, a Precision Agriculture major from West Point.
The Dairy Judging team placed fourth in reasons and fifth overall. Team members included Kelton Bruhn, an Agribusiness major from Stanton, Marah Dornhoff, a Veterinary Technician major from Minden, and Agriculture Transfer majors Kyle Rehak from Wisner and Miles Wright from Burwell.
The Horticulture team placed third overall. Team members were Horticulture and Golf Course Management majors Brengelman, Luke Dutcher from Sioux City, Iowa, Cache Gracey from Arnold and Jensen. Individually, Brengelman placed third overall.
The Knowledge Bowl team of Andel, Brady Cook, a Precision Agriculture major from Belgrade, Dutcher and Monke placed third in the competition.
In Livestock Judging, the team members were Bruhn, Dornhoff, Rehak and Wright.
Completing Portfolios were Andel, Klein, Mangelsen, Monke, and Jackson Nelson, a Precision Agriculture major from Albion.
The Precision Agriculture team members included Precision Agriculture majors Brayden Brabec, Cook, Kaden Gehring and Jackson Nelson. The team placed third overall. Also competing in the contest was Precision Agriculture major Dillon Tonniges from Gresham.
Individually, Cook placed second overall.
In the Soils Contest, the team of Andel, Dubbs, Klein, and Jackson Nelson placed fourth.
Also competing in the Soils contest were Lilly Allicks, an Animal Science major from Wyanet, Illinois, Rylyn Nelson, Evan Pankoke, an Agribusiness major from Hampton and Steffen.
Individually, Pankoke was fifth on Pit 3.
The Northeast students were accompanied on the trip by instructors Brandon Keller, Mike Roeber, Sarah Sellin, Bernie Thyen and Mike Zierke.
In addition to participating in the contests, the group also had the opportunity to take part in some tours and visit sites while on their trip to Canyon and while in the Canyon area. These included Strataca, the Underground Salt Museum in Hutchinson, Kansas, the Kansas Wetlands Education Center in Great Bend, Kansas and the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon.
Illinois State University in Normal, IL will host the 2026 NACTA Judging Conference in April 2026. Northeast Community College hosted the judging conference in 2018.
Agribusiness Contest Winners
Northeast Community College earned first place in the NACTA Judging Conference in the category of Agribusiness. Shown here are members (front row, from left) Branden Monke, an Agronomy and Agribusiness major from Arlington; Barrett Andel, an Agronomy and Agribusiness major from David City; (back row) Dillon Dubbs, an Agronomy major from Wood River, and Grant Arens, an Agronomy major from Laurel. Individually, Andel also finished first. (Northeast Community College)
