FEATURE STORIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
2009
AGRONOMY STUDENTS RECEIVE NATIONAL HONORS
MANHATTAN – K-State Agronomy students had a strong showing at the Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Sciences (SASES) portion of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) annual meetings in Pittsburgh, PA, October 30 - November 5. Several students captured national honors and committee chair positions.
Michael Stueder, sophomore from Claflin; Allie Marks, sophomore from Norcross, MN; Bobbie Barthol, senior from Wellsville; and Josh Patterson, junior from Valley Center won first place in the Club Poster contest. The poster was titled: “Providing the Inside Scoop: Beyond the Profile.”
James Hartshorn, senior from Tonganoxie, and Josh Carlin, sophomore from Alton, tied for second place in the Visual Presentation category.
Bryson Haverkamp, sophomore from Bern, was elected national treasurer of SASES. Those named to chairs were Michael Stueder, Membership Committee; Shae Pelkowski, freshman from Derby, Research Symposium Committee; Hannah Christen, freshman from Oregon, IL, Speech Contest Committee (co-chair); and Jason Unruh, freshman from Peabody, was named Quiz Bowl Committee.
Other K-State Wheat State Agronomy Club members attending the ASA annual meetings were Josh Andres, senior, Newton; Brett Haney, junior, Jacksonville, IL; Lauren Lang, junior, Overbrook; Nathan Keep, senior, Elm Creek, NE; Kerri Neugebauer, junior, Grandview, MO; Eric Preston, senior, Columbus; Nicole Rezac, senior, Onaga; Jenae Skelton, senior, Larned; Erica Waechter, senior, Emporia; Matt Wyckoff, senior, Gardner; and Kelly Yunghans, junior, Leavenworth. The agronomy faculty advisor for the club at the ASA meetings was Dana Minihan, Agronomy Assistant Academic Coordinator. Minihan was named 2009 SASES national advisor.
AGRONOMY PROFESSORS RECEIVE NATIONAL AWARDS
Three K-State Agronomy faculty received national honors at the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) annual meetings in Pittsburgh, PA, November 2-5.
Fred A. Cholick, Professor of Agronomy, Dean of Agriculture, and Director of Research and Extension, received the Agronomic Service Award. Frederick A. Cholick has been a wheat breeder, worked in international agriculture development, provided leadership for federal agricultural funding, and farm bill legislation. He has been Dean of Agriculture at K-State since 2004.
The Agronomic Service Award recognizes development of agronomic service programs, practices, and products for acceptance by the pubic. The focus is on agronomic service with associated educational, public relations, and administrative contributions of industrial agronomists, governmental, industrial, or university administrators, and others.
Dave Mengel, Professor of Agronomy, received the Werner L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors. David B. Mengel is a professor of agronomy at Kansas State University with responsibilities in research, extension, and teaching. This award recognizes outstanding performance in the development, acceptance, and/or implementation of diagnostic techniques and approaches in the field. The selection criteria are the creativity and innovation of the nominee. The award is supported through a contribution by the late Dr. Nelson to the Agronomic Science Foundation.
Mengel came to K-State in 1998 as Head of Agronomy, and served in that position through 2005, when he stepped down to return to a faculty position. He currently supervises the Soil Testing Lab, teaches Agron 625 Applications in Nutrient Management, and does research and Extension work in the areas of soil testing and fertilizer use, the use of sensors to predict fertilizer needs, alternative crops, and soil management.
Prior to coming to K-State, he was on the faculty at the Louisiana State Rice Experiment Station from 1975-79 working in rice and rotational crop fertilization, and Purdue University from 1979-1998 where he had teaching, research and extension responsibilities in soil fertility and crop production.
Chuck Rice, University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, received the Environmental Quality Research Award. This award recognizes contributions that have enhanced the basic understanding of environmental sciences in relation to agriculture, or demonstrated sound and effective management practices for maintaining or improving the quality of soil, water, and air resources.
Rice, an award-winning soil scientist, was a member of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its work. Most recently, Rice was awarded the Irvin Youngberg Award for Applied Sciences, one of the University of Kansas' Higuchi Awards, and was named one of five team leaders for a $20 million Kansas NSF EPSCoR project researching global climate change and renewable energy research.
Rice came to K-State in 1988, became a full professor in 1998 and earned the university's highest academic rank of university distinguished professor in 2009. His research focuses on soil organic dynamics, nitrogen transformations and microbial ecology. In particular, his work on denitrifier ecology in subsoils has advanced the understanding of the impact of cultivation on microbial ecology and the fate of nitrates in soils and groundwater.
He is the 2010 president-elect of the Soil Science Society of America, served as associate editor of Soil Science Society of America Journal and is Fellow of ASA, SSSA, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
K-STATE CROPS TEAM WINS CENTRAL REGIONAL CONTEST
MANHATTAN – The Kansas State University Collegiate Crops Team placed first in the Central Regional Crops Contest held recently in Manhattan. Cloud County Community College placed second. Oklahoma State University and Hutchinson Community College also participated.
The K-State team placed first in all three phases of the contest - seed analysis, grain grading, and plant and seed identification. In addition, the team captured the top three individual overall placings.
The competition required participants to identify more than 200 different plants or seed samples of crops and weeds; grade eight different samples of grain according to Federal Grain Inspection Service standards; and analyze ten seed samples to determine whether they contain impurities, and if so, what contaminants exist.
K-State students competing at the regional contest included Kelly Yunghans, junior in agronomy, Leavenworth; Jared Kohls, sophomore in agronomy, Clearwater; Jared Unrau, senior in agricultural technology management, Newton; Bryson Haverkamp, sophomore in agronomy, Bern; Alissa Krafft, senior in agricultural education, Oakley; and Nathan Keep, senior in agronomy, Elm Creek, NE.
Yunghans was the high individual overall, followed by Kohls in second and Unrau in third place. The team will next travel to Kansas City and Chicago for the national contests.
The team is coached by Kevin Donnelly, K-State professor of agronomy. Sponsors for the K-State Crops Team include the Kansas Seed Industry Association, Kansas Crop Improvement Association, Department of Agronomy, and the K-State Student Government Association.
Marriage, From the Ground Up
Turning what some might consider a fairy tale romance into a marriage on stable ground has proved an interesting tale for two families -- and their friends.
The bride, the former Sarah Rice, is a talented writer, yet even she might have had a challenge coming up with a plot with so many connections …
Sarah was a working journalist (in Davenport, Iowa) when she decided to accept a new job in Minneapolis, Minn.
She didn't know anyone there, so her mother, Sue Rice (who lives in Manhattan, Kan.), suggested that she look up Theresa Boggs, a young woman who also had moved to Minneapolis for a new job.
Now, before we begin to get lost in the connections, Theresa is the daughter of Don and Rosemary Boggs, who are friends of Sarah's parents, Charles ("Chuck") and Sue Rice. Don also is Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University, where her father, Chuck Rice, is a University Distinguished Professor of Soil Microbiology.
The two young women had much in common, and became friends.
Still, Sarah admits to being a little apprehensive when Theresa invited her to a birthday party for someone she didn't know.
Theresa vouched for the two young men, however, and, before the party concluded, Shea McGinnity (one of the young men) suggested a date for getting better acquainted the next day.
McGinnity is a sales supervisor in Minneapolis, but -- surprise -- his father also is a soil scientist.
After realizing that their fathers might know each other, McGinnity called his father to check, and learned that although he knew of Chuck Rice, he did not know him personally -- yet.
There was a connection, though. Patrick McGinnity had earned a Ph.D. in soil science at the University of Minnesota under academic advisor George Ham, who later accepted an assignment as the Head of Department of Agronomy in the College of Agriculture at K-State and hired Chuck Rice, who was then a young soil scientist and Sarah's father.
The Hams -- George and Alice -- also lived in the same neighborhood as the Rices during Sarah's growing up years.
So, what happens when the son of one soil scientist marries the daughter of another soil scientist?
While some just-marrying couples choose to light a unity candle, Shea and Sarah chose to blend the state soils from their childhood homes (for Sarah, from Manhattan, Kan., and for Shea, from Shoreview, Minn,) and meaningful sites, such as the Konza Prairie (for Sarah). [For soil scientists, that involves blending the state soil of Kansas (Harney silt loam) and the state soil of Minnesota (Lester loam).]
Sue Rice (Sarah's mother) is credited with suggesting the idea after hearing of a Western Kansas farm couple who had blended the soils from their family farms when they married.
Sarah's father picked up on the idea, as, according to Sarah: "Fathers don't always have much to do in getting ready for a wedding."
Not so, though, with this wedding.
According to Sue Rice, Chuck gathered the soil with the help of some colleagues and sieved it over and over again to refine it for the wedding ceremony, at which the couple blended the soils.
The earthly blend is now on display in a glass carafe in their apartment home. And, an enthusiastic father of the bride also has some in reserve for planting a tree when the newlyweds purchase their first home.
"In blending the soils, we've tied the past to the present and the future," Sarah Rice McGinnity said.
And, while their marriage is starting off on solid ground, Shea McGinnity is vowing to keep it that way. As a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, McGinnity is keeping a copy of "How to Love Your Wife," which was written by Dr. John Buri (one of his former professors), handy.
Sarah Rice McGinnity is the daughter of Charles ("Chuck") and Sue Rice; Shea McGinnity is the son of Patrick and Laurel McGinnity.
National Science Foundation Grant Awarded for Climate Change, Renewable Energy Research
A $20 million National Science Foundation grant will further establish Kansas as an internationally recognized leader in global climate change and renewable energy research – and will let a Nobel-Prize winning K-State scientist continue his work on the effects of climate change.
“This grant allows Charles Rice, a University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, and his fellow researchers to continue their important work on climate change. As K-State continues to make sustainability a campus priority, we are more proud than ever to be involved in a project on global climate change and renewable energy,” said Kirk Schulz, K-State president.
Rice was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. The five-year award to Kansas NSF EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), a statewide program that includes major Kansas research universities, will provide a fresh integrative approach to address climate change and renewable energy challenges.
For more details, see: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/NSF_grant100609.aspx
Agronomy Professor Receives Prestigious Research Achievement Award
Charles Rice, University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, has received the Irvin Youngberg Award for Applied Sciences. This is one of four prestigious Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards for 2009. The awards, now in their 27th year, honor outstanding accomplishments in research by faculty members at Kansas Board of Regents institutions.
Rice is ranked among the premier soil scientists in the world. His research in the area of soil carbon and nitrogen cycling is especially well-known. The focus of his work is how soil management influences microbiological processes and how that affects crop productivity, the release of greenhouse gases and global climate change. He served as lead author of the chapter on agriculture in Mitigation of Climate Change, a 2007 assessment report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (co-recipient that year of the Nobel Peace Prize). In addition, he is president-elect of the Soil Science Society of America.
For more details, see: http://www.news.ku.edu/2009/october/6/higuchiawards.shtml
DIRT! THE MOVIE
DIRT! The Movie, tells the amazing and little known story of the relationship between humans and living dirt.
Learn More...
August 27, 2009
K-STATE AGRONOMY STUDENTS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN STUDENT EXCHANGE WITH BRAZILIAN UNIVERSITIES
MANHATTAN – Kansas State University has received a $257,000 four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a U.S.-Brazil student exchange program. The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) award will provide for an exchange of students and faculty between the two countries. The specific project title for this program is “Providing Education in Face of Climate Change, Food and Energy Scarcity.”
Four universities are participating in this program. K-State is the lead university on the U.S. side and the Federal University of Santa Maria is the lead university in Brazil, said Chuck Rice, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agronomy, and lead contact for the program at K-State. The other two universities are Mississippi State University and the Federal University of Mato Grosso.
This grant will foster collaboration between leading universities in two of the most important agricultural countries in the world, said Rice.
“We will address the challenges of providing education in face of food and energy scarcity and climate change. This program involves the exchange of students, faculty, and ideas to care for the soil and other vital natural resources at a time when demands placed on global agricultural resources are growing dramatically,” explained Rice.
“Students will participate in a combination of short (two weeks) and extended (six months) exchanges. This program will better prepare students to address the complex issues surrounding the most important challenges humanity faces in the 21st century.”
The program is jointly administered by FIPSE in the U.S. and the Brazilian Ministry of Education. The program aims to improve the quality of students in undergraduate and graduate education in both countries and to explore ways to prepare students for work through:
* The mutual recognition and portability of academic credits among U.S. and Brazilian institutions;
* The development of shared, common, or core curricula among U.S. and Brazilian institutions;
* The acquisition of the languages and exposure to the cultures of the United States and Brazil;
* The development of student apprenticeships or other work related experiences; and
* An increased cooperation and exchange among academic personnel at U.S. and Brazilian institutions.
K-State students interested in participating in the U.S.-Brazil Student Exchange Program can contact Chuck Rice, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Agronomy, at 785-532-7217, cwrice@ksu.edu, or Scott Staggenborg, Professor, Department of Agronomy, 785-532-7214, sstaggen@ksu.edu.
K-STATE SOIL JUDGING TEAM TAKES FIRST AT NATIONAL COMPETITION
MANHATTAN -- The Kansas State University Soil Judging Team won the 2009 National Soil Judging Contest for the second year in a row, taking first place overall and first in group judging. Twenty-three teams from around the country competed March 26 - April 3 at the host school, Missouri State University.
K-State’s individual team member achievements include Kelsey McGie, junior in milling science management from Iola, who placed ninth in individual judging, and Kim Kerschen, freshman in agronomy from Garden Plain, who took 12th place in individual judging.
Other team members contributing to the championship include Angela Tran, senior in agronomy from Prairie Village, Kerri Neugebauer, sophomore in agronomy from Grandview, Mo., Stuart Watts, sophomore in agronomy from Manhattan, and Timothy Foster, freshman in agronomy from Middlebury, Vt.
Purdue University took second place in the competition, West Virginia University took third, the University of Maryland took fourth, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville placed fifth.
K-State’s team is coached by Mickey Ransom, professor in agronomy, who is assisted by Paul Hartley, agronomy graduate student from Emporia.
The 2009 National Soil Judging Contest was assisted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service. The contest is an activity of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America.
K-STATE’S WHEAT STATE AGRONOMY CLUB HOSTS REGIONAL MEETING
MANHATTAN -- More than 230 college students from across the country were treated to a first-hand look at Kansas agriculture during the Students in Agronomy, Soil, and Environmental Sciences (SASES) 2009 regional meeting. Kansas State University’s Wheat State Agronomy Club (WSAC) hosted the meeting on April 3 and 4. Fifteen schools were represented, from Virginia Tech to Purdue to Colorado State.
“This event was a great way to showcase Kansas agriculture to future leaders in the agricultural industry,” said Matt Wyckoff, Wheat State Agronomy Club president. The club organized the meeting activities, which included a career fair, barbeque, guest speaker and four tours of agricultural facilities throughout the east and central parts of the state.
Through the tours and activities, students were able to network with professionals and other students while broadening their Kansas agriculture experience.
“Whether students came from the heart of the Corn Belt or from the fruit orchards of Florida, they were all able to get a personal experience of Midwest agriculture by participating in the tours,” said Samantha Ambrose, the National SASES Corresponding Secretary from Purdue University. Ambrose came with seven others from Purdue. She said she had a great time making friends and learning in a new agricultural atmosphere.
The weekend started with a tour of the Konza Prairie on Friday, followed by a career fair with 40 industry representatives in attendance. Friday night, a barbeque preceded a presentation titled “Opportunities in Agriculture, the Challenges, and Telling Our Story with Their Rules” by Kyle Bauer from KFRM radio.
The tours started Saturday morning. The northeast Kansas tour included trips to Rezac Land and Livestock, Jeffrey Energy Center, and the K-State Grain Science Flour Mill Facility. The north central tour took students to AgriPro Wheat Research Inc., Ke-Ot Farms and the Willow Creek Dairy. Tour three went through central Kansas to Knopf Farms, Veris Technologies Inc., Phillips Seed Co. and Russell Stover Candy. The last tour, focusing on the Flint Hills, traveled to JB Pearl Sales and Service, Mission Valley Ranch and the Tallgrass Brewing Company.
Educational opportunities on the tours included crop, livestock and dairy production, flour milling technology, wheat breeding, soil variability sensing technology, hybrid seed sales, prairie ecosystem management and fertilizer and pesticide applications, as well as interesting exposures to different industries in Kansas.
“I enjoyed the tours the most out of all of the meeting’s activities,” said Michael Macek, WSAC treasurer. Macek did much of the work coordinating the tours. “The tours were a huge success. The producers we visited all shared great knowledge and advice. Also, we wanted the industry stops on the tours to give the visiting SASES members a feel for the contribution our state and region offers to business and industry,” he said.
At the end of the day on Saturday, dinner was followed by a private performance by Nashville recording artist Dustin Evans and Good Times at R.C. McGraws.
“Everyone seemed to have a great time,” Wyckoff said. “We tried very hard to plan an
event that was educational and fun.”
SASES is a professional undergraduate development organization with focus areas in agronomy, soils, crops and environmental sciences.
The WSAC would like to thank the sponsors who helped make the weekend a success. Major sponsors included Syngenta Seed, AgCareers.com, Mid Kansas Co-op, Crop Production Services, Helena Chemical Company, Team Marketing Alliance, CHS Inc., Monsanto Company and the Kansas Corn Commission. In addition, 52 industry friends and families helped support the regional meeting. Without their generous support, the event would not have been possible.
K-STATE CROPS TEAM WINS NATIONAL TITLE
MANHATTAN – The Kansas State University Crops Team took first place in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture national crops contest on April 17 at the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio. The K-State team has won this title eight times in the last 11 years. Seventeen teams from two- and four-year schools participated in the competition.
K-State placed first in the lab practical, math practical, and plant and seed identification parts of the contest, and second in the agronomic quiz.
Seed and plant identification requires contestants to learn more than 250 plant and seed samples. In the laboratory practical, competitors identify insects, diseases, weeds, fertilizers, crop and forage products, and field and laboratory equipment. They also determine crop growth stages, interpret pesticide labels or seed tags, evaluate crop production problems, and describe soil properties.
The agronomic quiz evaluated knowledge of crop production and management, crop physiology and breeding, soils and tillage, soil fertility, crop harvesting and storage, weeds, insects and diseases. The math practical includes equipment calibration and other various other agronomic calculations.
Students competing on the K-State team and their placings:
Darrin Seiwert, senior in agronomy, Conway Springs, placed second overall, third in math and fourth in both identification and agronomic quiz.
Allen Kampschnieder, senior in agronomy, Howells, NE, was third overall, third in identification, fifth in math and seventh in agronomic quiz.
Jared Unrau, junior in agricultural technology management, Newton, placed third overall, first in identification, third in lab practical and tenth in math.
Heath Kinser, junior in agricultural technology management with an agronomy minor, Hugoton, was seventh overall, fourth in math, eighth in ID and tenth in lab.
Brian Lee, senior in agronomy, Leavenworth, placed eleventh overall, sixth in lab, eighth in math, and ninth in agronomic quiz.
Aaron Widmar, sophomore in agronomy, Franklin, competed as an alternate.
Kevin Donnelly, professor of agronomy, served as coach for the team.
K-STATE SENIOR FROM PRAIRIE VILLAGE IS 2009 UDALL SCHOLAR
MANHATTAN -- Andrew McGowan, senior in agronomy with a soil and environmental science option, Prairie Village, is Kansas State University's 21st Morris K. Udall scholar.
McGowan is among 80 students to win a 2009 Udall scholarship, a $5,000 national scholarship that is awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to a career related to environmental protection or to students who are Native Americans or Native Alaskans seeking careers in health care or tribal policy. He was selected from a pool of 515 candidates nominated by 233 colleges and universities.
"We're so pleased that Andrew McGowan is our 2009 Udall scholar," said Jon Wefald, K-State president. "Andrew has shown his dedication to protecting the environment through his involvement in numerous K-State organizations. He is a great model of a Udall scholar and demonstrates K-State's continued success in the scholarship competition."
K-State ranks third in total Udall scholars among state universities and fifth overall since the scholarship program began in 1996.
McGowan plans to pursue a doctorate in soil ecology. He said by studying the human effects and the natural processes that occur in soil, he would like to provide information to farmers, consumers and society in order for people to make more informed, environmentally friendly decisions.
"I firmly believe that considering the environmental consequences of our actions is essential in sustaining our existence and that of the rest of the environment," McGowan said. "Because agriculture is one of the major ways people alter the earth's landscapes, making sure we care for the soil, air and water when producing food is critical."
McGowan currently is studying abroad at the Beijing Language and Culture University in China. He was a member of the 2008 National Champion K-State Soil Judging Team. He has served as the environmental chair on the Moore Hall Governing Board, campus issues coordinator for the K-State Association of Residence Halls and webmaster for Students for Environmental Action. He also is an Eagle Scout and has been a staff member at Philmont Scout Ranch.
He has received a Chinese Government Scholarship, agronomy departmental scholarships and was a Phi Kappa Phi sophomore scholar. A 2006 graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School, he is the son of Bill and Joby McGowan, Prairie Village.
2008
FOUR K-STATE ARMY ROTC CADETS AMONG THE SMARTEST IN THE NATION
MANHATTAN -- Four seniors in Kansas State University's Army ROTC Wildcat
Battalion are among the smartest cadets in the nation.
The four students recently ranked among the top 10 percent of the Army
ROTC's National Order of Merit List. They include Chance Moyer, senior
in history, Chanute; Jason Grams, senior in agronomy, and Justin
Hackett, senior in sociology, both of Manhattan; and Christopher
Garlick, senior in political science, Manassas Va.
"We place a lot of emphasis not only on military excellence but academic
excellence as well," said Lt. Col George Belin, professor and head of
K-State's department of military science. "The top priority for our
cadets is for them to be successful students first, because those who
are successful in the classroom also are successful as Army officers."
The National Order of Merit assessment judges thousands of cadets from
Army ROTC programs across the nation on factors such as grade point
average, physical fitness, performance at a 33-day leadership camp at
Fort Lewis, Wash., extracurricular activities, and a rating provided by
the students' military science instructors.
"I am a firm believer in that success breeds success," Belin said. "When
our underclassmen or prospects see the academic achievements of some of
our seniors, they understand how integral academic success is to
helping them achieve their goals in the Army. They then strive to
uphold the high standards of our elite program."
Enrollment in K-State's Army ROTC program has been experiencing better
than expected growth over the last few years. This fall the Wildcat
Battalion stands at 155 cadets, up 20 percent from last year.
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State's Corey Adams, Tysyn Hartman, Alex Hrebec, Jeron Mastrud and Darrin Seiwert were named to the 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Football First Team, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Mastrud, a junior business administration major and the second-leading receiver on the squad this past season, earned his second straight first team honor, while all other four Wildcats garnered the honor for the first time.
Adams, a sophomore long snapper from Monument, Colo., and Hartman, a Wichita native and junior defensive back, both are open option majors, while Hrebec, a redshirt freshman linebacker from St. Louis, MO., and the Wildcats' second-leading tackler in 2008, is a pre-chiropractic major. Seiwert, a senior tight end from Conway Springs, is majoring in agronomy.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and its media relations offices, the football academic all-league squad consisted of 91 first team members combined with 46 on the second team. First team members have recorded a 3.20 or better GPA, while the second team are those with a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher, either cumulative or in the two previous semesters and have participated in 60 percent of his team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.