Twenty-seven members of the Holdrege FFA and Ag Education Program competed in the Southwest Area Land Judging contest on October 2nd near Heartwell, NE. The contest was hosted by the Tri Basin Natural Resources District with 194 contestants from thirteen schools evaluating four sites for topsoil thickness, slope, topsoil and subsoil textures. After determining these factors each participant determined a land capability class and checked off recommended practices for each site based on cropland or rangeland qualities.
Sixteen of the twenty-seven Holdrege contestants received ribbons for the day. Holdrege members that earned white ribbons were Carlos Mendoza, Micah Nelsen, Andrea Botello, Derrek Marquardt, and Cooper Lindstrom. Red ribbon winners included: Kaelina Nelson, Sunder Schemper, and Julia Rust. Blue Ribbon recipients were Jacob Moon, Cael Schmidt, Clay Maloley, and Jett Johnson. Only the top ten individuals can receive a Purple Ribbon: Claire Maloley (10th), Haley Kunz (8th), Marcus May (7th), and Kambryn Vaughn (2nd). Also participating in the Adult, noncompetitive Division was Mitchell May.
In the team competition, Holdrege’s top team of Kambryn Vaughn, Claire Maloley, Marcus May, and Haley Kunz earned a spot at the State Land Contest as the 2nd qualifying school. Other state qualifying schools were Alma, Overton, and Axtell. The State Land Evaluation contest will take place on October 16th near Norfolk.
The next FFA event will see several Chapter Members participating in the 97th National FFA Convention. It will be broadcasted through RFD TV and www.ffa.org. October 23rd – 26th. The Holdrege FFA Chapter will receive its sixteenth National Chapter Program Rating in the past seventeen years. Holdrege FFA Fruit Sales will also begin October 17th and run through November 7th.
