Miles Community College students currently majoring in different components of agriculture competed in the Society for Range Management (SRM) Rangeland Cup Poster Competition, held during SRM’s annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, during the third week of February. The students representing were: Jaxon Grogan (Parker, CO), Riley Anderson (Miles City, MT), Colton Ludwig (Columbus, MT), and Kelly Rehm (Miles City, MT). The team’s mentor was Miles Community College Ag Instructor, Kim Gibbs.
The Rangeland Cup is a yearly team problem-solving competition centered on an issue or problem of interest to rangeland management. The competition promotes critical thinking and cooperative, collaborative work on current topics and/or topics of historical importance to rangeland ecology and management. Teams are made up of four students and one professional mentor. Miles Community College’s poster topic was Efficiency: The Future of Range Management. While the team did not place in this year’s competition, the students were able to use the opportunity as a learning and networking event.
“My trip to Denver was an experience I enjoyed,” said student Jaxon Grogan. “I met a lot of important people in range management and made a lot of connections.” Grogan mentions that he learned there is much more going on to improve rangelands than he thought. “The trip also helped me realize that the science is never exact, and every year there are new ideas changing the way we manage range.”
This year, the event saw a total of ten current and former MCC students, with some alum returning as participants through programs at their current institution. Sponsors for the trip included Anderson Air, First Interstate Bank (Miles City), Custer County Soil and Water Conservation District, and MCC Student Senate.
Miles Community College offers one- and two-year programs in various agriculture emphasis areas which include: Agribusiness, Natural Resource and Range Management, Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Animal Science (both Livestock Management and Pre-Veterinary), Agriculture Production, and Equine Studies & Management. For more information about MCC and its academic programs, visit www.milescc.edu or contact MCC at 406.874.6100.
