FFA team fourth at nationals in land judging

The Lind-Ritzville FFA chapter’s land judging team finished fourth in the nation at the 63rd Annual National Land, Range and Homesite Contest in Oklahoma City last week. The team technically tied for third place with Clay County FFA Chapter from West Virginia.

Connor O’Neill finished first in the nation with the highest individual score recorded in the land judging event. Advisor Andy Williams, who traveled and helped prepare the team for the competition, said this is the first time in his tenure as a FFA advisor where a student has placed first in the nation as an individual, in any competition.

Joining O’Neill on the team are Ryan Frederick, Bridger Smith, Dylan Hartz and alternate Tyler O’Brien. O’Neill secured the top place finish with a score of 274, five points higher than the next individuals who tied for second place.

The team placed 11th in the Homesite Evaluation portion of the contest, with Smith placing 18th.

The trip to the national land judging contest is unlike any competition the students have participated in before. The students arrived in Oklahoma on Monday, April 30, before registering and traveling to practice sites on Tuesday.

The students were bussed out to farms to discuss the soil and conditions of the area with local farmers and ranchers. Williams said the students ended up doing the official judging at a cattle ranch. The location of the competition is changed on a yearly basis.

Wednesday the students visited the practice sites again to review and prepare for the following day’s contest. The team returned to the city and attended a social for all of the FFA members competing in the event while Williams attended a coaches meeting.

Early on Thursday morning, the team members met at the hotel where they were picked up and caravanned to the ranch. Williams said the caravan served as one of the highlights of the day, as the caravan received a police escort.

The FFA members judged the various pits at the site and completed scorecards addressing a variety of categories. In the land judging portion of the contest, the students evaluated the surface and subsurface texture, depth of soil, slope, erosion, permeability, surface runoff and land capability class of the soil.

In the home site evaluation portion of the contest, students judged the land for foundations, lawns, septic and lagoons, based on texture, permeability, depth, slope, erosion, runoff, water tables and flooding.

After the competition had completed, the chapter members had an opportunity to tour Oklahoma City and visit historic sites. The chapter attended the awards ceremony on Thursday evening at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

The individual high scores were announced first, with the top 10 individuals being called to the stage. The chapter celebrated in the achievements of O’Neill, who had his name called last as the top finisher, before being called to the stage as one of the top 10 teams.

Williams said the team was so excited for O’Neill; they had not yet considered or were aware they were within the top five as a team. In a tie with the West Virginia team, the Lind-Ritzville FFA team members celebrated the fourth place finish, which was highlighted by having the highest individual score in the nation.

The purpose of the land judging and homesite evaluation is to assist students gain insight into career field such as environmental and agricultural management, as well as give them tools to pursue those careers.

Students interested in pursuing a career in home building or construction also gain valuable skills through the competition, specifically in the homesite evaluation portion of the contest.