From the Executive Director
It generally takes the fall release of the special issue of Resource magazine for me to notice that we are fully in “back to school mode.” We rotate between "Discover," which features agricultural and biological engineering grads, "Explore," which focuses on those who earned agricultural systems management (ASM) and similarly named degrees, and the "Capstone" senior design issue. The experiences and contributions these recent grads write about are inspiring. The ag systems programs are less theoretical and more applied, with an emphasis on hands-on learning. This can-do mindset often leads ASMs to have very diverse and exciting careers, like Auburn grad Adam Lenhard, who is working in the music industry managing artists, scheduling venues, and performing himself. Watch for the "Explore" issue to hit the virtual newsstand in the coming days.
I’m pleased to report that CNH Industrial is once again offering four $2,500 ASABE scholarships to agricultural systems management and agricultural and biological engineering undergraduates enrolled in U.S. or Canadian programs. It’s easy to apply. Be sure to submit your application by October 31, 2023.
The USDA NRCS recently released episode 1 of their "Legends" series focusing on individuals who have been pivotal to watershed conservation work throughout the nation. ASABE Fellow Larry Caldwell is featured in this episode and he does an excellent job describing the Watershed Protection Program and his career’s work. Watching this 32-minute video is time well spent!
Darrin J. Drollinger
Executive Director
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AE50 Nominations Open Through September 25
Do you have innovative products that were first made available for purchase or ordering during the 2023 calendar year?
Today's AE50 winners typically include machines, systems, components, software, and services ranked highest in innovation, significant engineering advancement and impact for the markets they serve. Awards are presented in February, at ASABE's annual Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference, in Louisville. The award-winning products are also highlighted in a special issue of ASABE's Resource magazine.
AEM is once again teaming up with ASABE to present the prestigious Davidson Prize, an elite award presented to the best of the best within the AE50 winners. The top-10 AE50 products will be judged by a second panel to determine the winners of the 2024 Davidson Prize.
Entry deadline is September 25, 2023. For more details, see the guidelines and entry form online at www.asabe.org/AE50. If you have questions about the AE50 Awards program or the Davidson Prize, please contact Awards Administrator Corey Sayles.
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Featured Video
Caldwell among the Legends in NRCS Docuseries
ASABE Fellow Larry Caldwell is featured in the first episode of "Legends of NRCS Watershed Programs," a docuseries featuring individuals who have been pivotal to watershed conservation work throughout the US.
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Dues Rise but Your ASABE Membership is More Valuable Than Ever
ASABE leadership makes every effort to manage the financial resources of the Society responsibly, and we consciously limit member dues increases. Our commitment to maintaining the highest-quality services and products, however, means that occasional increases are all but unavoidable.
Such was the case when the ASABE Board of Trustees completed its periodic dues-review process and determined that an increase is necessary. Renewal invoices for 2024 will reflect an increase across all dues categories except for undergraduate and graduate students.
Be assured that we will continue to control expenditures and reduce expenses whenever possible, while providing the highest-quality support and service to our members. Over the last few years, we've expanded our commitments to members, hosting more specialty conferences and extending our support of students and early-career members. We've widened efforts to foster partnerships within and external to ASABE. We've offered additional assistance to those members seeking professional licensure and for those looking to fulfill their licensure requirements. And we'll continue to seek out opportunities to leverage our respected Standards program, as with our recent accreditation as a Canadian Standards Developing Organization.
We'll continue to seek the highest return on benefits for Society funds in order to serve our membership and to strengthen agricultural and biological engineering as a profession.
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2023 Student Competition and Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to these teams and individuals for outstanding achievements in ASABE Student competitions.
Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award
PhD Category
1st Place – Magni Hussain, Pennsylvania State University
2nd Place – Suraiya Akter, North Carolina State University
3rd Place – Piyush Patil, North Carolina State University
MS Category
1st Place – Carly Graves , North Carolina State University
2nd Place – Heather White, Kansas State University
3rd Place – Rashmi Sahu, Pennsylvania State University
K. K. Barnes Student Paper Award
1st Place – Nora Sauers, North Carolina State University
2nd Place – Liam Reynolds, University of Illinois
3rd Place: – Junyu Pan, North Carolina State University
AGCO National Student Design Competition
1st Place – North Carolina State University, "Improved Precision Sow Feeder with Mass-Based Measurement System," Grayson Averette, Lily Averette, Joseph Hanks, and Justin Raver
2nd Place – University of Tennessee, Knoxville, "PIPER: Pot-in-Pot Extracting Robot," Robert Cowan, Cam Reynolds, Bailey Millsaps, and Darlene Player
3rd Place – University of Wisconsin, Madison, "Machine Learning Models Using Remote Sensing for County-Level Corn Yield Prediction in the Midwestern U.S.," Gabby Whisler, Jenna Kouba, Micah Robinson, and Zach Jannusch
Robotics Student Design Competition
Beginner Division
1st Place – North Carolina State University, Robopack
2nd Place – Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Precision Agriculture Automation Club
2nd Place: – Zhejiang University, D.A.D.
Advanced Division
1st Place – Zhejiang University, Out of Bounds
2nd Place – Seoul National University, SNU Bot
3rd Place – University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Huskerbot X
Best Poster
University of Florida, ABE Gators
Best Written Report
Zhejiang University, D.A.D.
G.B. Gunlogson Environmental Student Design Open Competition
1st Place – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Julia Bruneau, Kelly Houck, Isabella Munson, and Julia Post Appalachian Trail- Brown Mountain Creek Pedestrian Bridge Replacement
2nd Place – Virginia Tech: Colin Baldwin, Nicole Chapman, Natalie Larsson, Alex Lowe, Kyle Lowe, and Matthew Smith Design Implications of Policy Change on Solar Site Stormwater Management in Virginia
3rd Place – University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Seth Chaney, Matt Gehosky, Leah Johnston, and Savannah Roth Design of a Flow and Sediment Suspension Sampler
Fountain Wars Competition
1st Place and Best Aesthetics – North Carolina State University
2nd Place and Best Written Report – Michigan State University
3rd Place – Kansas State University
Ag & Bio Ethics Essay Competition
1st Place – Roselle Barretto, Kansas State University
2nd Place – Nitin Rai, North Dakota State University
3rd Place – Alise Chavanapanit, University of California, Davis
Ag & Bio Ethics Video Competition
1st Place – Naomi Pitts, North Carolina State University
2nd Place – Elizabeth Gillikin, Ankitha Lavu, Nitesh Kasera, and Autumn Sylvestri, North Carolina State University
3rd Place – Roselle Barretto, Kansas State University
Bioprocess Startup Competition
1st Place – Adsorbeads, Atharv Dixit, Kristen Hall, Nitesh Kasera, Rosie Maloney, Paige Seibert, and Hannah Wall North Carolina State University
2nd Place – Friendly Filters, Camila Gonzalez, Vancie Peacock, and Hunter Porcano Penn State University
3rd Place – PERC, Carly Graves, Lillian Lower, and Ethan Woods, North Carolina State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ASABE Scholarships
William J. Adams, Jr., and Marijane E. Adams Scholarship – Trevor Vancura, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ASABE Foundation Engineering Scholarship Bryce Schott – The Ohio State University
John C. Nye Graduate Fellowship – Agnes Millimouno, University of Illinois
Student Honors Award Winners – Shelby Orton, North Carolina State University
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ISB Officers Elected
 Congratulations to the newly elected officers of our International Student Branch. The new officers were elected during the ISB business meeting at the 2023 Annual International Meeting in Omaha.
President – Paige Seibert, North Carolina State University
1st Vice President – Akiya Stywall, North Carolina A&T University
2nd Vice President – Hunter Porcano, Pennsylvania State University
Secretary – Paulina Baker, University of Wisconsin
Parliamentarian – Tina Djordjevic, University of Illinois
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Submit Your Photos to the Visual Challenge
 What do you see? We want to see it, too!
Submit your agricultural and biological engineering images for our annual Visual Challenge by November 1, 2023. Here’s your chance to convey and celebrate the beauty of your work, your research, or your technical community. It's up to you and your camera, so be creative! Submit as many entries as you want. All entries should be original work, and the image resolution must be 300 dpi or greater.
Email your entries, as attachments, to Resource magazine editor Melissa Miller. Please include a title and brief description for each image. If necessary, include a name for crediting the image and written assurance that permission has been granted to submit and possibly publish the image. The best images will be selected by ASABE staff and published in the January/February 2024 issue of Resource. Good luck!
Have fun! We'd love to see what you do!
Check out the winning entries from previous Visual Challenges.
Photo: 2023 Visual Challenge entry, courtesy ASABE Member Allison Graham
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Licensure Webinar, Resources Offered
Study sessions continue for those preparing to take the agricultural and biological PE exam. If you missed the August session, you're welcome to join us for either or both of the remaining study sessions, taking place September 6 and October 4.
We have a number of resources available to help you! Email Sarah Rodriguez to learn more.
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Students, How May We Serve You?
Are you a student who's received a free ASABE undergraduate student membership? We want to make sure we exceed your expectations. Please fill out our brief survey to help us better serve you!
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CNH Scholarship Applications Open
Now accepting new nominations!
The CNH Industrial Undergraduate Scholarship awards four scholarships of $2,500 each and is open to all ASABE undergrad members in the US and Canada. Application deadline is October 31. More information is available here.
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Members Awarded Presidential Citations for Outstanding Volunteer Service
Presidential Citations recognize members of extraordinary service and invaluable contributions to the Society. The Society's accomplishments are a direct result of individual and team efforts. At the 2023 ASABE Annual International Meeting. the following individuals were recognized.
James W. Jones and Brahm P. Verma
For their energy and devotion in developing the Circular Bioeconomy Systems (CBS) initiative and their vision to create a new Strategic Initiatives Council, which will house the CBS and future initiatives.
Adam Barlow, Dan Cederberg, Mark Ledebuhr, and Kari Kavanagh
For their outstanding leadership and teamwork with ASABE Standards staff in planning and hosting the September 2022 Field Day and Plenary Meeting of ISO TC 23/SC 6 Crop Protection near ASABE headquarters, St. Joseph, Michigan. The field day demonstrated state of the art crop protection machines to over 80 guests including guests from State and Federal Legislatures and State and Federal regulatory agencies while the plenary had 14 countries represented in-person and online.
Wei Liao, Ajit K. Srivastava, and José Francisco Aguilar Pereira
For their exceptional leadership in planning and hosting the Sustainable Energy for a Sustainable Future conference, Costa Rica, October 24-26, 2022.
Dennis C. Flanagan and Megh Goyal
For their exceptional leadership in planning and hosting the International Symposium on Soil Erosion Research under a Changing Climate, Puerto Rico, January 8-13, 2023.
Barbara Sturm and Markus Demmel
For leading the reengagement of European Agricultural and Biological engineers with ASABE members through EurAgEng and VDI-MEG that started with President Keith Tinsey participating in EurAg-LAND.TECHNIK 2022, Berlin, Germany and progressing with the networking reception at 2023 AIM, Omaha, Nebraska.
Gary Seibel
For persistent commitment and devotion to ASABE as Society Treasurer and the longest tenured volunteer of one of ASABE’s premier student competitions, International ¼ Scale Tractor Student Design Competition.
Jim Koelliker
For the tenacious and meticulous leadership as the ASABE Foundation Treasurer for 15 years, including establishing the investment policies and updating the operating procedures to grow the effectiveness of the Foundation, and culminating with meeting the goal of the Foundation’s assets topping $5,000,000.
Alicia Modenbach
For her exceptional leadership in planning and outstanding execution of the Circular Bioeconomy Systems Day, Omaha, NE, July, 9, 2023.
Matt Helmers and Chris Hay
for their exceptional leadership in planning and outstanding execution of the 11th International Drainage Symposium, Des Moines, IA, on August 30, 2022.
Also recognized was non-member Sarah Hill, with a President’s letter of commendation for her help in expanding ASABE's social media presence and for collaborating with staff and volunteers in producing and moderating the new podcast, “The Lead with ASABE."
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Book Club to Meet September 20
 There is still time to read Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis, and join the discussion on September 20 via Zoom. Registration is required.
The ASABE Book Club is supported by the ASABE Initiative Fund and sponsored by the ASABE Young Professionals Community.
Participants will be eligible for a $25 Amazon credit. Qualifying, registered members will receive credit after participating in the Zoom book discussion on September 20, 2023.
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Annual Meeting Papers Posted
The papers submitted to us before the annual meeting have been posted online. You may still submit your paper to Jill Straub.
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UF's ABE Department Celebrates 100 Years
 Calling all Gators, past and current!
Celebrate and honor the University of Florida's agricultural and biological engineering department's centennial year.
Festivities begin at the Austin Cary Forest Center on Thursday, October 26, and conclude with a ceremony at University Auditorium the following morning.
More details
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2nd Global Evapotranspiration Symposium
 Advances, Challenges, and Future Needs in Measurements, Modeling, and Applications
October 23-27, 2023
The Penn Stater Hotel
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA, USA
Now through October 10, early bird registration is open for the 2nd Global Evapotranspiration Symposium. Mark your calendar to attend this specialty event in beautiful Pennsylvania this October.
Expect a full schedule, complete with a Monday evening welcome reception, concurrent sessions and lunches on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, a field trip on Wednesday, keynote speakers—all included with your registration.
The Penn Stater Hotel is able to accept your reservations at 1-800-233-7505; or reserve online. Use the code GECA23A to obtain the block rate of $135 plus taxes and fees, valid through September 22 or until sold out.
Watch the website for program updates.
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AMAA Conference, Summit & Technology Show
 Imagining African Agrifood Systems — Looking Forward
November 14–17, 2023
Dakar, Senegal
Registration and the call for abstracts and exhibitors are both open for the first event to be hosted in Africa by ASABE's Alliance for Modernizing African Agrifood Systems.
Submit your abstract before September 30, 2023, to be considered for participation. For a listing of session topics and more details, visit the event page.
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New Additions to the ASABE Technical Library
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Open Access Articles, Special Collection Articles, New Journal Issues
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 29(3)
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Recent Standards Activities
New Standards
- ANSI/ASABE S631 APR2023ED, Machine Vision Method of Forage or Biomass Particle Size and Size Distribution
- ANSI/ASABE S611 JUN2023, Collecting, Processing, and Visualizing Geographic Harvest Data
Revisions
- ANSI/ASAE S319.5 AUG2023, Method of Determining and Expressing Fineness of Feed Materials by Sieving
Press Releases
- August 21, 2023, ASABE Develops Standard on Mapping Yield and Associated Data (PDF)
- August 24, 2023, ASABE Publishes New Standard for Machine Vision Use on Particle Sizing (PDF)
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In Memoriam — Edwin Eisele
 Edwin Eisele, 51, of Olathe, Kan., passed away on Sunday, July 30, in his home, surrounded by family.
Eisele was born September 15, 1971, in Ottawa, Kan., to Karl and Twilla Eisele and his childhood on the farm shaped his skills and passions. He graduated from Ottawa High School in 1990, attended Bartlesville Wesleyan College for two years, and went on to earn his BS and MS degrees in biological and agricultural engineering at Kansas State University.
After graduation Eisele worked for John Deere, where his expertise in transmissions and hydraulics were put to use on numerous tractor programs. He was issued a patent, developed new technologies, adventured in Europe during a three-year assignment in Mannheim, Germany, and made many lifelong friends along the way.
Eisele met his future wife, Casee, at Kansas State University, and they married on December 27, 1996. They were blessed with three sons, Spenser, Lance, and Trent. The family enjoyed many exploits together, and Edwin passed along his special kind of humor and love of K-State sports to his boys. They spent many happy years in Waterloo, Iowa, sandwiching the three years in Mannheim, Germany, and the past decade in Olathe, close to family and the family farm.
He is survived by his wife and sons, his parents, two brothers, and a host of loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family.
Memorial suggestions include a fund established for Edwin L. Eisele at the Kansas State University Foundation. Indicate fund M47449.
Eisele was a 30-year member of ASABE.
Full obituary
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