Dunn County Land Judging Contest
Submitted by Janell Newcomb, Dunn County Land Conservation Division
The 2013 Dunn County Land Judging Contest was held on Thursday, October 3rd. Approximately 77 students from Boyceville, Colfax, Elmwood, and Menomonie High Schools participated in the event. This year’s contest was held near Connorsville and was hosted by Roger & June Hanson and Neil Hanson.
The students reviewed four soil pits. The characteristics of topsoil and subsoil had to be recognized. They were required to determine the texture, structure, depth, slope and drainage of the soil. The soil fertility and Nutrient Management requirements had to be judged. Students were also required to identify soil erosion and other limitations of the soil as well as classify the soil site according to its capabilities and recommend the correct farm management and conservation practices for the site.
The top team in the event was the Boyceville Team led by Agriscience Instructor Glenn Knudtson. They scored a total of 1,135 points. Marvin Wrenke had the top individual score of 293. Alyssa Leslie, Jerod Nelson, and Colton Johnson were the other team members that contributed toward the winning score.
Second place honors went to the Colfax Team, under the direction of Agriscience Instructor John Nelson, with a score of 1,103. Sawyer Suvada was the top individual with a score of 298. William Michaels, Heidi Lieffort, and Dakota Homann were the other top scoring members of the team with their individual scores ranging from 240-283.
Under the guidance of Agriscience Instructor Jean D’Angelo, the Menomonie Team placed third with a score of 1,044. Brenden Schauf, Nova Johnson, Cole Kennedy, and Jack Schaff contributed to their team’s score with individual scores of 303, 260, 256, and 225 respectively.
Joy Schwebach, Jason Larson, Nick Webb, and Chris Gift were top scoring individuals for the Elmwood team with Joy scoring 289. Their team score of 1,009 gave them fourth place honors under the direction of Jeff Pickerign, Agriscience Instructor.
Boyceville FFA Alumni paid for the cost of digging the pits and Tim Meyer, retired USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist, volunteered his time to judge the pits. Personnel from the Dunn County Land Conservation & Surveying Divisions organized and assisted with the contest.