Two hundred thirty-nine FFA members from twelve high schools gathered in Pawnee County on Wednesday, October 6th to compete in the Southeast Area Land Judging Competition. Schools in attendance were Diller-Odell, Palmyra, Tri-County, Meridian, Johnson-Brock, Nebraska City, Fairbury, Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca, Pawnee City, Lewiston, Johnson County Central, and Falls City.

The top four teams along with individuals placing in the top ten qualified to compete in the state land judging competition to be held October 19th near Scottsbluff. Top finishing team and individual results are as follows:

First Place Team, Lewiston: Leah Christen, Taven Borcher, Jaqueline Mullins, Jazmine Thomsen. Second Place Team, Nebraska City: Mason Houghton, Lextyn Harker, Riley Penney, Kaden Maybee. Third Place Team, Johnson-Brock: Austin Meyer, Zac Hawley, Ella Gerdes, Rowen Benham. Fourth Place Team, Pawnee City: Norman McHenry, William Vlcek, Madison Fender, Adrian de Koning.

Individual state qualifiers are (1st) Mason Houghton of Nebraska City, (2nd) Leah Christen of Lewiston, (3rd) Taven Borcher of Lewiston, (4th) Norman McHenry of Pawnee City, (5th) Jaqueline Mullins of Lewiston, (6th) Kaden VanWinkle of Tri-County, (7th) Austin Meyer of Johnson-Brock, (8th) Lextyn Harker of Nebraska City, (9th) Issac Frederick of Falls City, and (10th) Zac Hawley of Johnson-Brock.

Land judging teaches students to learn and recognize physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship. Students judge the depth, texture, permeability, slope, thickness, and erosion of soils at four different locations. They additionally determine the land capability class, identify conservation practices that would benefit the soil, and any soil or fertilizer amendments needed to produce a crop. The competition is co-sponsored between the Nemaha NRD and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Thank you to everyone that made the event possible!