John Deere TECH Program students displayed their skills during The National Postsecondary Agricultural Student Association (PAS) conference in February. TECH students from across the country competed to win the Ag Machinery Technician Machinist Award (AMSTA) sponsored by John Deere.

PAS is a national organization that recognizes the skills and talents of agriculture and agribusiness students. Each year, 1,115 members from 56 chapters in 18 states are invited to the national conference to meet and compete. This year’s conference was held in Hershey, PA.

The winning AMSTA team was Josh Hora and Andrew Gartner from the TECH Program at North Dakota State College of Science. The second place team was Zane Erickson and Paul Hovland, also from NDSCS. Each team in the competition had to diagnose and calibrate agricultural equipment ranging from tractors to sprayers.

In addition, Hora placed first in the individual competition. All four students graduated from the NDSCS TECH Program this spring.

“Not only did these students work hard in the competition, they had the confidence to go in there and do their best,” says Larry Ascheman, instructor/coordinator of the TECH Program at NDSCS. “The TECH Program teaches more than the basics of John Deere. We also show students where to find the right answers and how to apply what they’ve learned. These students in this competition are prime examples of the kind of service technicians our program creates.”

“We couldn’t be prouder of our TECH students,” says Jenni McClure, John Deere Manager College Partnerships. “This conference is a great opportunity for them to show people nationwide what they can do. It’s great for the TECH Program to have such outstanding students, working so hard, winning the competition.”

Other John Deere TECH Programs represented at the conference included Madison Area Technical College, Northeast Iowa Community College, and the State University of New York at Cobleskill.