More than 600 high school students from 30 area schools competed in the Northeast Area Land Judging Competition on Wednesday, October 2nd, in Blair, Nebraska, to test their knowledge of soil structure and land evaluation.
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) hosted the annual competition on an acreage in Blair where students assessed physical features of the soil, such as texture, permeability, thickness, wetness, slope, erosion, depth, and organic matter.
Land judging enables participants to learn how to recognize the physical attributes of soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship.
Eight teams (West Point, Norfolk, Wisner-Pilger, Lyons-Decatur Northeast, Tekamah-Herman, Pierce, Oakland Craig, and North Bend) and one individual, Aubree Schlueter of Logan View, advance to the state land judging competition in Norfolk, Nebraska, on October 16th, 2024.
The competition was sponsored by the Papio NRD in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.