Many Fresno State works subject students look guardant to internships to link their schoolroom cognition with the existent needs of a career, but caller postgraduate Juan Magana had a caput commencement earlier helium adjacent began astatine Fresno State.
In precocious school, the Firebaugh autochthonal would shadiness his brother, Gustavo Magana, who began moving arsenic a pest power advisor for J.R. Simplot aft helium received a Fresno State works subject grade himself successful 2017.
On their visits to assorted farms and fields, Gustavo would stock his cognition with his brother, 11 years younger, arsenic helium scouted for assorted pests oregon illnesses that were affecting crops.
This acquisition amplified Juan’s ain summertime enactment arsenic a laborer successful precocious schoolhouse and arsenic a tract scout successful college. Working with Simplot, helium has helped turn cotton, almonds, alfalfa, corn, pistachios, saccharine potatoes, grapes and walnuts.
“(In precocious school) I would person overmuch alternatively been extracurricular and seeing things turn than staying astatine home,” Magana said. “I loved riding on with him since you tin spot and larn thing caller each time successful the fields. Fresno State seemed a earthy mode to marque this a vocation with its estimation and ties to Central Valley agriculture.”
The younger Magana’s thrust to adhd caller cultivation acquisition besides led him to articulation the Plant Science Club 2 years ago, which precocious led to his 10th-place idiosyncratic decorativeness astatine the Soil Science Society of America’s National Soil Judging Contest on May 1 and 2, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Magana tallied 756 points astatine the nationalist event, which featured 107 competitors – the highest decorativeness by a Fresno State idiosyncratic since Mark Castanon placed 5th wide successful 2018.
“Juan’s show was incredible, but not surprising,” said Michael Sowers, the manager of the ungraded judging squad and a works subject module member. “This past semester helium has honed successful connected his hand-texturing skills, and adjacent collected ungraded samples from farms that helium worked connected and brought them to people for practice. That other dedication has decidedly paid off.”
Other Fresno State competitors astatine the lawsuit included seniors Hannah Chamberlin (58th, 659) and William Dowling (80th, 627) and inferior Mariela Perez-Garcia (96th, 575).
Those scores helped Fresno State spot 16th wide arsenic a squad against the nation’s apical cultivation programs, galore of which entered students concentrated connected ungraded subject degrees.
Competitors were tested connected their quality to identify, evaluate, classify and picture ungraded profiles successful idiosyncratic contention astatine adjacent Wisconsin Lions Camp successful Rosholt, Wisconsin, and astatine a adjacent workplace for the squad portion.
Each individual’s people was based connected judges’ evaluations of their descriptions and scorecards of 3 ungraded pits. In the squad judging event, members from each squad evaluated 2 ungraded pits and their scores were compiled.
The University of Idaho took apical squad honors up of the University of Delaware (second) and the University of Maryland (third). JosiLee Scott of West Virginia finished arsenic the apical idiosyncratic overall, up of second-place finisher Bethany Knutsen of the University of Delaware and third-place finisher Emmeline Seest of Purdue University.
Competitors arrived earlier successful the week and began studying the region’s soils successful mentation for the competition. As they learned astir glacial till and outwash soils, which are derived from glacier advances and recedences, they besides learned however the soils interaction murphy production, which is the main harvest successful the region.
“The squad was challenged by wholly antithetic ungraded types and topographies than what they are utilized to studying successful California, but it did not halt them from excelling,” Sowers said. “After their beardown showing astatine regionals with 1 of their champion squad scores, the squad continued to enslaved and propulsion each different to bash their champion this outpouring successful their classes and labs.”
Fresno State qualified for the nationalist lawsuit based connected its first-place squad decorativeness astatine the Region 6 Soil Judging Competition connected Nov. 2 adjacent Las Cruces, New Mexico. In that event, Fresno State claimed six of the top-10 idiosyncratic places and the wide rubric courtesy of elder Tanner Ozuna.
Other squad members included seniors Aaron Delgado, Victor Fraga, Jimena Quezada, Tanner Ozuna, Gabriela Rios and inferior Mary Travioli.
Two further California schools from the determination lawsuit earned nationalist invites. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, which placed 2nd successful the region, placed 5th nationally astatine the Wisconsin event. UC Davis, which placed 3rd successful the region, took 23rd nationally.
Fresno State competitors are portion of a works subject ungraded judging people taught by Sowers, who besides works arsenic a managing ungraded idiosyncratic astatine Valley Science and Engineering, a Valmont company.
The people emphasizes USDA methods for describing and interpreting soils for their capabilities to hole students for careers successful a wide scope of cultivation and earthy resource-related areas specified arsenic the Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Forestry Service, Bureau of Land Management, backstage workplace absorption and biology consulting.
In mentation for the determination and nationalist events, the squad studied ungraded profiles successful Central Valley locations and utilized enactment from Tulare County Resource Conservation District, Travioli Family Farms, Vecchio Farms, works subject module emeritus Dr. Bruce Roberts, and works subject head Marlene Miyasaki. The supporters besides contributed funds to acquisition instrumentality and assistance with contention question costs.
Sowers helped usher the squad to different nationalist trips successful 2024 (24th), 2018 (15th), 2017 (20th) and 2016 (18th).
Magana besides competed astatine the nationalist contention successful 2024 and led the squad with an 80th-place idiosyncratic decorativeness astatine the lawsuit hosted by Iowa State University.
After receiving his grade astatine the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology commencement astatine Fresno State connected May 16, Magana tin present absorption connected pursuing his pest power and certified harvest advisor licenses. He’s besides considering applying for jobs successful workplace absorption oregon sales, since helium knows that the accomplishment sets tin beryllium shared crossed vocation fields.
“Soil judging has helped maine travel a agelong way,” Magana said. “I struggled with immoderate of the concepts initially, but the passionateness and cognition of our manager carried implicit to the squad arsenic helium challenged america with caller things each class. Going to nationals was a bully mode to extremity our semester earlier we received our degrees and person 1 much memorable acquisition together.”
