The South Dakota State University College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) Prexy Council will host its 12th annual Ag Day today (April 11, 2022) in the SDSU Student Union. This year’s event is centered around the theme “Growing Through the Grit.”
Ag Day will feature club and sponsor booths, an employer social and an evening banquet, which will include a free meal open to the public, CAFES awards program and speaker Darren Hefty of Hefty Seed and Ag Ph.D.
“Each year, SDSU Ag Day celebrates rural communities and agriculture,” said Marie Robbins, Ag Day Chair. “This year’s theme represents how agriculturalists continue to overcome challenges.”
Additionally, the 2022 CAFES Club of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Outstanding Seniors and Advocate will be announced at the event in addition to recognizing the 2021 Walt McCarty Advising Award recipient.
Organizations and students within CAFES can nominate a professor they feel has gone above and beyond in their duties as an educator through the CAFES Teacher of the Year award. This year’s nominees include Don McCrea, instructor in the Department of Natural Resource Management, Rosie Nold, professor and assistant department head of the Department of Animal Science, Lane Speirs, coordinator of recruitment and academic services in the Department of Dairy and Food Science, Van Kelley, head of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Bob Thaler, distinguished professor and SDSU Extension Swine Specialist in the Department of Animal Science, Maribeth Latvis, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resource Management, Brent Turnipseed, professor and assistant department head of the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, Carmen Paulson, lecturer in the Department of Animal Science, Bev Cassady, lecturer in the Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences, Arvid Boe, professor in the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, and Peter Kovacs, assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science.
CAFES Prexy Council also selects an outstanding organization that provides members with meaningful experiences throughout the school year through their program of activities. Finalists for this year’s Club of the Year award include Ceres, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Club, Swine Club, FarmHouse Fraternity, Agronomy and Precision Ag Club and Alpha Zeta.
Serving as the student voice for CAFES students on the Prexy Council executive team, the Advocate position was voted on by CAFES students on March 29-30 in conjunction with the SDSU Students’ Association elections. Finalists for this position include Adrienne Lipinski, an agricultural communications student from Eden Valley, Minnesota, Karmen Sperr, an agricultural communications and leadership student from Donnelly, Minnesota, and Emily Matejka, an agricultural communications student from Sherburn, Minnesota.
Additionally, Natalie Hoyes, professional advisor in the Department of Animal Science, will be recognized at the Ag Day banquet as the recipient of the 2021 Walt McCarty Advising Award, which is presented to an academic advisor to promote the importance of and stimulate excellence in academic advising and provide recognition to outstanding undergraduate advisors in CAFES.
The CAFES Prexy Council has organized SDSU Ag Day since 2011. The council is made up of representatives from each of the 30+ clubs within CAFES and is overseen by an executive board that organizes meetings and events for students.
For more information, visit the CAFES Prexy Council’s Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/
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