SDSU students excel in range management exam competition

BROOKINGS, S.D. — A team of 11 South Dakota State University students brought home a second-place finish in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam competition during the Society for Range Management Annual meeting in Boise, Idaho in February.

Students from any major can participate in the exam, but many students of the team are members of the SDSU Range Club.

Three of the students on the team placed in the top 10% of individuals and are exempt from the Certified Professional in Range Management (CPRM) exam that is taken after five years of work experience. These students are Tyler Geltmacher, Landon Wolter, and Kaitlyn Preszler.

“It was extremely gratifying to hear that we placed second as a team and that I was in the top 10 individually,” said Geltmacher in a statement. “It confirmed that SDSU is a great school within the field of Range Management and we have a talented team.”

The exam is multiple choice and covers the topics of range ecology, grazing management, range improvement, range regions, range inventory and analysis and multiple-use relationships.

“The exam itself offered many challenging questions that one might see in the field, knowing how to solve these will be very helpful in the future,” said Preszler in a statement. “The conference also offered a chance to network and gain communication skills while talking with other professionals in the field.”

According to coach Lora Perkins, associate professor in the Department of Natural Resource Management and affiliate associate professor in the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, participating in the range team has a huge impact on a student’s education and future career prospects.

Team members were also able to attend a job fair during the conference, where they were able to network with leaders in the industry.

“Consistently, there are more job openings for range scientists than we have graduating students — job prospects are great,” said Perkins in a statement. “The networking potential at these meetings is tremendous.”

Students interested in being part of the team can sign up for the Range 400 class in either the fall or spring semesters.