Extracurricular Activities & Events

The Dickinson State University rodeo team has a strong tradition of excellence in the rodeo arena. We compete in the Great Plains Region, which includes teams from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa.

DSU rodeo team members enjoy top-notch training facilities—including an indoor arena that allows them to train year-round—and plenty of practice stock with which to hone their skills. The men’s and women’s teams have been a perennial power in the Great Plains region for decades, and DSU is home to several collegiate national champion individuals.

Cowboys & Candlelight is an annual fundraiser for the Dickinson State University Rodeo Club. Funds raised from the event go to student rodeo scholarships and programming. The event features great food, fun, games, and a dance.

FFA District Leadership is an annual event hosted by the Dickinson State University Department of Agriculture and Technical Studies. This event is a North Dakota FFA event hosted on campus that gives more than 200 students from southwest North Dakota exposure to leadership development skills and the DSU campus.

Kids Day on the Farm is a community-wide event that attracts more than 1,500 area preschool through third grade students to learn more about agriculture. Attendees are exposed to agriculture in a hands-on way. The event includes farm equipment, animals and crops, a soils tunnel, petting zoo, and more. The DSU Ag Club hosts this event.

Hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Studies, the Opportunities in Agriculture event was created to give senior agricultural students a forum in which to present their senior capstone research. It also was created to serve as an agricultural job and graduate school fair and give the students an opportunity to network with local and regional agricultural businesses.

Roughrider Judging is an annual event hosted by the DSU Ag Club. Area FFA and 4-H contestants are invited to Dickinson State University to participate in a livestock judging contest, crops contest, and ag sales contest. As this event is held at the beginning of the spring season, it is a great first contest for these students.

Kaci Anderson
Title: “Evaluating Line-Point Intercept to Estimate Percent Current Years and Previous Herbage Production”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland

Chase Ballard
Title: “Comparing Planted and Seeded Corn from a Food Plot Perspective”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Quirt Beer
Title: “Effect of Cow Age on Postpartum Interval and Breeding Cycle Conception”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Wade Berg
Title: “Effects of Artificial Insemination Sires on Pregnancy Rates in Angus Cattle”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Allyssa “Ally” Brown
Title: “Comparing the Effectiveness of Sunn Hemp and Oats as a Cover Crop on Manured and Non-Manured Land”
Collaborator: Dr. Joshua Steffan 

Brendan Butterfield
Title: “Traditional Rangeland Feeding in Comparison to Equipment Bale Grazing”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Breeana Dressler
Title: “Efficiency of Microwavable Popcorn”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Trey Fischbach
Title: “Acidification of Agricultural Soils and Its Effect on Southwest North Dakota Agriculture”
Collaborator: Dr. Joshua Steffan 

Roxanne Gray
Title: “Does Phenylbutazone and/or Furosemide Affect Racehorse Performance?”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Braydon Katus
Title: “Average Daily Gain of Purebred Angus vs. F1 Baldy Steers”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Cory Kistler
Title: “The Effects of Potassium Chloride and Sulfate on Millet Vegetative Growth”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Cheyanne Klein
Title: “Effect of Milestone and DuraCor on Absinth Wormwood”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Kaylene Klein
Title: “The Effects of MezaVue, Surmount, and Tordon on Prickly Pear Cactus in Rangeland of Southwestern North Dakota”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Olivia Kudrna
Title: “Bridging the Rhetorical Gap Between Agricultural Producers and Consumers”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Garret Leland
Title: “The Best Stage Growth of Forage Barley for Beef Production in North Dakota”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland 

Mariah Linder
Title: “Postfire Vegetation Response in the North Dakota Badlands”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland

Catie Loftsgard
Title: “The Effect of Prairie Dog Towns on Vegetation Density in Western North Dakota”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland

Lily McFadden
Title: “Change of Body Condition Score in Pregnant Beef Cattle Throughout the Winter”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland

Mariah McLaughlin
Title: “Soil Characteristics Along an Abandoned Mine Catena Pre-1980s”
Collaborators: Dr. Chris Augustin and Dr. Chip Poland 

Kamira Miller
Title: “Defining Forage Nutritional Composition of Grazing Beef Cattle Diet in Western South Dakota”
Collaborator: Dr. Chip Poland

Luke Mowry
Title: “The Effects of Major Soil Disturbance on Fertility Characteristics”
Collaborator: Dr. Eric Brevik