Eastern High School FFA soil judging team is headed to the national competition in Oklahoma City in May after placing second in state competition.
FFA coordinator Todd Elgin says judges will select a site and dig four soil pits in various areas. Students evaluate nine soil properties, such as drainage, slope, texture and erosion and decide what the recommended practice for that ground should be – home building, farming, conservation and other uses.
One of the big challenges facing the team is the new rules and equipment they’ll be using at nationals. The team will have to relearn everything including the equipment.
There’s also the added pressure of this being these students’ only chance to compete at the national level for soil judging.
