Vern Oostra Competed With Dordt College In Iowa Ag Contest

2013 Feb 19

Vern Oostra of Hull, Iowa in force at the Spring Iowa PAS (Post-Secondary Agriculture Students) Conference in Ankeny, Iowa, on February 4 and 5. Oostra is a junior majoring in agriculture with an emphasis in agri-business. He qualified for the National PAS Conference. Oostra was part of Dordt team that took third place in the College Bowl and second place in the Dairy Specialist contest. He took first place in the Sales contest and was elected President of Iowa PAS.

Overall, eight Dordt teams placed within the top five in their categories and several students earned top individual honors. Dordt sent 22 students who competed in College Bowl, Swine Specialist, Beef Specialist, Dairy Specialist, Crops Specialist, Equine, Precision Ag, Sales, and Employment Interviews contests.

PAS is one of 10 career and technical student organizations approved by the U.S. Department of Education as an integral part of career and technical education. Their motto is "uniting education and industry in agriculture." This year, more than 300 students from Iowa competed. This is the second time the Dordt Ag Club participated in the conference.

Dordt College is one of only a handful of Christian colleges in North America to offer a four-year agriculture program. Over the past several years, all Dordt agriculture students have found positions within six months of graduating, most much sooner. Graduates enter careers not only in farming and technical service support but also in government, finance, and international development. Learn more at www.dordt.edu/agriculture.