National Land and Range Judging Contest Winners Announced
OKLAHOMA CITY—More than 700 4-H and FFA students from over 30 states competed in the 67th National Land and Range Judging Contest hosted by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) yesterday. After two days of practice at sites in Oklahoma City, the contest was held outside of El Reno, Oklahoma at the El Reno Correctional Institute Farm.
National championship trophies were awarded at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to team and individual winners in each category of competition: land judging, range judging and homesite evaluation. Each category included FFA and 4-H awards.
The national team championship trophies in land judging were awarded to the Gunter, Texas FFA Chapter and the Barbour County, West Virginia 4-H Club. National individual championship trophies in land judging were awarded to Dylan Taylor of the Sonora, Texas FFA Chapter and Luke Farnsworth of the Barbour County, West Virginia 4-H Club.
The national team championship trophies in range judging were awarded to the Hondo, Texas FFA Chapter and the Meade County, South Dakota 4-H Club. National individual championship trophies in range judging were awarded to Preston Twilligear of the Hondo, Texas FFA Chapter and Ryan Wilen of the Meade County, South Dakota 4-H Club.
The national team championship trophies for homesite evaluation were awarded to the Hico, Texas FFA Chapter and the Wessington Spring, South Dakota 4-H Club. National individual championship trophies for homesite evaluation were awarded to Devin Gonzales of the Hondo, Texas FFA Chapter and Katelyn Winber of the McCook County, South Dakota 4-H Club.
In the adult category, John Smith of New Martinsville, West Virginia won both the land judging contest and the homesite evaluation contest. Terry Baize of Hamilton, Texas won the range judging contest.
The Oklahoma State University (OSU) Department of Plant and Soil Science will offer a $1,500 scholarship to the top-scoring individual in the land judging contest, and a $1,500 scholarship to the top-scoring individual in the homesite evaluation contest. The winners’ eligibility is contingent upon enrollment at OSU as a Plant and Soil Science Major. In addition, if the students have a high school GPA of 3.5 or better and ACT scores of at least 24, OSU will add an additional $1,500 to the scholarship for a total of $3,000.
Jimmy Emmons, OACD President and co-chair of the contest steering committee, presented the 2018 National Land and Range Judging Contest Honoree Award to Kendall Brashears. Emmons described Brashears as “a wonderful partner,” and said “he has been a great ambassador for agriculture education in Oklahoma.”
Complete contest results can be found at www.judgingcard.com. Pictures from the event can be found at www.flickr.com/conservation_ok. The slideshow from the event can be found at https://youtu.be/6MI05jXrziw.