Tri-Basin Natural Resources District hosted the Southwest Area Land Judging Contest on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, in Kearney County. Land Judging is a high school FFA competition that challenges students to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land use limitations. Land Judging teaches participants how to recognize the physical features of soils, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship.

Natural resources districts support land and range judging competitions because these activities inform students about soils and the physical characteristics of the local environment. We work in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and high school FFA advisors to conduct seven regional competitions and a state land judging contest every fall. 

The contest was held on property owned by Rob and Jenny Hultquist of Minden. Nearly 200 students and 10 adults/adults/earlier national competition students from 13 area schools. Todd Radas with A&L Land Leveling dug the pits and filled them back in after the contest.

The top four teams in the competition were Alma FFA, Holdrege FFA, Overton FFA and Axtell FFA. Students from those four schools were the top 13 individuals overall. These teams of four students each will go on to compete in the State competition. Tri-Basin NRD congratulates all participants and wishes the best of luck to the winning teams as they advance to the state competition. Full contest results will be posted online at https://www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-land-judging-soil-evaluation.

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Photo Captions:  L to R:

1^st Place Alma FFA Team: Josie Nech, West Bennett, Alee Shicksnider, Austin Barwick

2^nd Place Holdrege FFA Team:  Marcus May, Claire Maloley, Kambryn Vaughn, Hayley Kunz

3^rd Place Overton FFA Team:  Paige Walahoski, Quinton Anderson, Parker Walahoski, Mason Dutro

4^th Place Axtell FFA Team:  Connor Strolberg, Caleb Kindschuh, Fletcher Clausen, Not Pictured Emma Hall

Determining the Slope: Students determine the slope of the ground which will help them decide the best use of the land.

Soil Profile: Students study the soil profile to see the depth and soil type in each layer.