2008
State Soils and Range Career Development Events
Students Get Feet Wet in Range & Soils Judging
The 2008 Nevada Soils Judging and Range Judging Contests
were held in Fallon, NV on September 17. The main goal
of the contest is to give high school students in FFA
and 4H exposure to range science and soil science. As
students learn about range judging and soil judging,
they get a glimpse of the work that soil scientists
and range scientists do on a daily basis. Some of the
past contestants have pursued careers in soil science
and range science and currently work for government
agencies, ranches, etc. At a minimum, all contestants
gain a greater appreciation of the importance of soil
and rangeland resources in Nevada and the importance
of using these resources wisely.
This year contestants literally got their feet wet
in range and soils judging as they evaluated sites near
the Carson River. The saline meadow range site was adjacent
to a small wetland. The nearby soil pit had standing
water less than two feet from the soil surface. Soils
in the contest tended to be sandy with layers of loam,
silt loam, or clay loam. Range sites in the contest
included a saline bottom and a riparian woodland. In
addition, range judging contestants identified 20 plants
living near the Carson River or transported from Hancock
Summit. The contest sites were set up with technical
assistance from Steve Herriman, Adam Boner, John Fisher,
Steve Slusser, Christie Scilacci and James Gatzke of
NRCS.
The contest organizers wish to thank Lahontan Conservation
District for financial support of the event and the
following individuals for help with logistics: Albert
Mulder and Craig McKnight of NRCS and Jessi Eckert,
Eddi Venturacci and Richard Bass.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
- Article by James Gatzke
The conservation district sponsored a portion of the
lunch.
Thank you to all of the event organizers for
supporting this event.
Soils Results
High Teams
1st - Moapa Valley FFA - A
2nd - Moapa Valley FFA - B
3rd - Mason Valley FFA
4th - Pahranagat Valley FFA
5th - Churchill County FFA
High Individuals
1st - Ashley Diamond (100%), Moapa Valley FFA
2nd - Hannah Hardy, Moapa Valley FFA
3rd - Chandler Whipple, Moapa Valley FFA
4th - Conor Chell, Mason Valley FFA
5th - Tiffany Houston, Moapa Valley FFA
Range Results 
High Teams
1st - Wells FFA - A
2nd - Lincoln FFA - A
3rd - Wells FFA - B
4th - Churchill County FFA
5th - Mason Valley FFA
High Individuals
1st - Kaci Spahan, Wells FFA
2nd - Moroni Wadsworth, Lincoln County FFA
3rd - Landon Rose, Wells FFA
4th - Shannon Walker, Wells FFA
5th - Carson Makin, Wells FFA
2008 Photos
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