National Land & Range Judging Contest Winners Announced
Nearly 850 4-H and FFA students and over 250 coaches from 34 states gathered in Oklahoma for the 69th National Land and Range Judging Contest, May 5, 2022. After two days of practice at sites in the Oklahoma City area, the contest was held near El Reno, Oklahoma at the Cheyenne Arapaho Tribal Headquarters.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its employees play a significant role annually in the success of the event, as does the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC).
The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) was the primary host along with about 30 additional sponsors.
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 Tyler FFA of West Virgina and Barbour County 4-H of West Virginia. National individual championship trophies in land judging were awarded to Emmeline Seest of Rossville FFA Fragipans of Indiana and Jaxson Carpenter of Barbour County 4-H of West Virginia.
The national team championship trophies in range judging were awarded to the Hamilton FFA of Texas and Butte-Jackson 4-H of South Dakota. National individual championship trophies in range judging were awarded to Alina Eilers of Hamilton FFA of Texas and Farynn Knutson of Butte-Jackson 4-H of South Dakota.
The national team championship trophies for homesite evaluation were awarded to the Vian FFA of Oklahoma and the McCook County 4-H of South Dakota. National individual championship trophies for homesite evaluation were awarded to Garrett Ammons of Tyler FFA of West Virginia and Harley Knotts of Barbour County 4-H of West Virginia.
On Thursday, Amy Seiger presented the 2022 National Land and Range Judging Contest Honoree Award to Jason Warren. For 14 years, he has thoughtfully served alongside the contest coordinators to ensure a successful national contest.
He currently serves on the faculty of Oklahoma State University as an associate professor and Soil and Water Conservation/Management Extension Specialist.
Jason grew up on a small grain and cattle farm in Woods County Oklahoma. He earned a B.S. degree in Environmental Sciences in 1999 and M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences in 2001 at Oklahoma State University. Jason continued his education at Virginia Tech where he obtained a Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences in 2005 and then spent two years as a Post-Doctoral Research Soil Scientist at the USDA-ARS Animal Waste Management Research Unit in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
After returning to OSU, Dr. Warren’s research and extension efforts have focused on management practices to reduce soil erosion and improve soil quality in both the agricultural and urban landscapes. He is also engaged in activities aimed at increasing water use efficiency in rainfed and irrigated crop production systems and reducing the transport of contaminates to surface and subsurface waters. In 2008, Dr. Warren also assumed the responsibilities of Dr. Jim Steigler as the official for the land portion of the National Land and Range Judging Contest. Dr. Warren makes his workload seem effortless. Jason thoughtfully gives back through his responsibilities in the execution of Oklahoma’s State Land Judging Contest at the end of April, completing his end of semester duties as professor, and officiating the Land portion of the national contest. We are thankful for his devotion and dedication to the young people impacted by this contest. It is an honor to recognize Dr. Jason Warren as the National Land and Range Judging Honoree for his devotion and dedication to the young people impacted by this contest.
Complete results of the 2022 Contest will be posted on the National Land and Range Judging Contest Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/nationallandrangejc. Photos of team and individual award winners and action photos from the past three days will be available on Flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzNhYY .