2005 Landjudging

Submitted by Katy McBride

On Tuesday, April 26th, the Southern Conservation District and the Greenbrier Valley Conservation District held their 2005 Landjudging Contest at the Plant Materials Center in Alderson, West Virginia. Eleven teams participated:

•  Monroe County (two FFA teams)
•  Clay County (two teams)
•  Greenbrier East (four teams)
•  Shady Spring High School (SSHS) (three teams)

Landjudging is a high school competition that challenges students to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land evaluation. Landjudging, enables each participant to learn how to recognize the physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship. Landjudging is oriented to the conservation of agricultural land. The major factors affecting how the land can be used must be determined. These factors are used to correctly recommend conservation practices and fertilizers for conserving soil.

A team is made up of three or four members. The total of the top three scores made by the individual members of the team is the team score. All team members are eligible for individual and team prizes. Team members judge four fields previously selected by the judges. Each field is marked off with stakes or other boundary markers. At some point in the field, a pit or hole is dug, exposing the soil profile. From this profile, the contestant determines the texture, depth, degree of erosion, permeability, and internal drainage of the soil. After these soil properties are determined, land use interpretations can be made. In each field, two wooden stakes are set up to determine slope. The leaders give any information that is needed about each field. This may include the original topsoil depth, pH or soil acidity, amount of available plant nutrients, and size of the field. Contestants are given 20 minutes to score each field. More information on landjudging may be found at http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/landrec/judging/

The top 5 Landjudging Teams were:

• SSHS FFA Team 1
• Clay County Team A
• Clay County Team B
• SSHS Biology Team
• Greenbrier East Team 1

Top 10 Landjudging Individuals

• Zack Lovell, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• Titus Schoolcraft, from Clay County Team A
• RJ Callaway, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• Jacob Jones, from Clay County Team A
• JR Davis, from Clay County Team A
• Jesse Vance, from Clay County Team A
• LJ Cox, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• Jesse Foster, from Clay County Team B
• Thomas Young, from Clay County Team B
• Sandy Surgeon, from Greenbrier East Team 1

Homesite:

Many of the factors used in judging agricultural land are also applicable to evaluating sites where homes will be constructed.

Top 5 Homesite Teams:

• Clay County Team A
• SSHS FFA Team 1
• SSHS Biology Club
• Clay County Team B
• SSHS FFA Team 2

Top 10 Homesite Individuals:

• Titus Schoolcraft, from Clay County Team A
• Zack Lovell, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• Jacob Jones, from Clay County Team A
• Jesse Vance, from Clay County Team A
• JR Davis, from Clay County Team A
• Will Vincent, from SSHS Biology Club
• LJ Cox, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• RJ Callaway, from SSHS FFA Team 1
• Cherie Overmiller, from SSHS Biology Club
• Jarrod Dawson, from Clay County Team B

The Districts provided breakfast and lunch for everyone and the top five scoring individuals for both the landjudging and homesite received a hat. The top team for both the landjudging and homesite received a trophy; which were presented by Becki Irons with the GVCD. Winning state teams are eligible to participate in the National Landjudging Contest in Oklahoma.

I would like to thank John and Warren at the Plant Materials Center for their assistance in helping us prepare for this contest. I would also like to thank those employees from NRCS, WVCA, and the district supervisors for their help in making this contest a success.

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