by MATT HUGHES
J-E News Editor
Members of the Webster County FFA Land Judging Team are currently in Oklahoma City, OK preparing for this week’s National Land Judging Competition.
Since 1952, Oklahoma has been home to the National Land and Range Judging Contests, which averages about 700 participants each year. The land judging competition looks at soil characteristics to determine the quality and capabilities of a piece of land. Areas competitors will judge are erosion, slope, drainage and permeability. By looking at these characteristics, students learn more about how soil can be used, how different soils should be managed and how soil can be conserved.
Webster County qualified for this competition by winning their regional event and then finishing fifth overall at the state level. This is the first time that Webster has qualified for the team national competition. Slaton Mooney, Kullen Floyd, Juston Suttons and Tristan Peercey took the top four individual spots at the regional competition.
According to Webster County Agriculture teacher Jarrod Hankins, there will be between 240 and 300 teams competing in Oklahoma City.
The team was scheduled to practice on Tuesday, and will take to the field for competition on Thursday, May 1, 2014.