The NDSU Horticulture and Forestry Club hosted the Mid America Collegiate Horticulture Society conference and competition during October. A total of 55 students from six universities attended, competing in woody and herbaceous plant identification, plant and produce judging and a general knowledge exam. South Dakota State University earned first place as overall team. The University of Minnesota, Crookston, and Iowa State University tied for second place. NDSU students did not compete because the host school designs the competitions.
Tours of several area horticultural research and production sites also were on the agenda. Conference participants toured the NDSU AES Greenhouse Complex, NDSU Horticulture Research Farm and Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum, Bergen’s Greenhouses in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Bluebird Gardens in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
At the NDSU Horticulture Research Farm and Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum, Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, professor and high value crops project leader, and Todd West, associate professor and woody plant improvement project leader, described their research and led the group on a tour of their projects. In addition, representatives of The Davey Tree Expert Co., Kent, Ohio, and Brickman Landscaping, Rockville, Maryland gave a short career talk. Hatterman-Valenti and West serve as advisers to the NDSU Horticulture and Forestry Club.
The conference wrapped up with an awards ceremony, featuring guest speaker Ron Smith, NDSU Professor Emeritus Extension horticulturist. Smith provided a summary of his experiences with northern horticulture.
The Mid America Collegiate Horticulture Society organization is a branch of the Association of Collegiate Branches within the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. It is comprised of horticulture clubs from universities and two-year colleges in Midwest Region states including Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Each fall, the conference is held at a different host school.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.
