Students judge soil at a state competition in Jasper. Submitted photo.
FFA students at Franklin and Indian Creek high schools have proven themselves again.
Delayed a year after the national competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two teams have earned spots to compete in a national soil judging competition in May in Oklahoma.
A soil judging team of four at Franklin schools placed second during the statewide competition in Jasper in October, while the Indian Creek soil judging team placed fourth, both qualifying among the five Indiana teams. Next, they will compete less than an hour from Oklahoma City against teams from across the country.
In soil judging, students descend into a narrow pit and look at a number of factors in determining the quality of soil and its best uses, said Norman Tucholsky, a Franklin Community High School sophomore who is going to nationals in his first season.
“We take texture from the topsoil and the subsoil and we do texture on that and we see what the parent material is. If there’s rocks in the hole, how many, where they’re at and things like that,” Tucholsky said. “We look at the slope to see if it’s suitable for a home or suitable for farm land.”
Repetition was key in preparing for the state competition, said Tank Elmore, a sophomore on the Franklin team.
“You have to know the rules, we hit those really hard this year,” Elmore said. “We would just do cards. We pretended we were at the contest and repeated that list of things. On one side of the card it’s ‘can you build a home?’ ‘Can you pump a septic tank?’ ‘Do you need to add sulfur or lime’ and then on the agriculture side, ‘can you farm it?’ ‘Why or why not?’”
Kaitlyn Ellis, a junior, is in her second year on the Indian Creek High School soil judging team and is making her first trip to nationals. Her time on the team has taught her things about the ground beneath her she never would have known, Ellis said.
“I definitely enjoy the atmosphere. Every time I go to a new pit I learn something new,” Ellis said. “I’ve learned about the history of the soil and certain glaciers moved certain things to our location and how we’ve farmed over time as the soil has changed.”
Also an Indian Creek High School junior, Grace Soots is excited to see soil from a different region of the country, Soots said.
“Experiencing Nationals and seeing new soil that’s so much different than Indiana soil, it’s unique,” Soots said. “I’m excited to see it and experience it.”
Alicia Geesey, who teaches agriculture and serves as the FFA advisor for Franklin High School, will be making her first soil judging team trip to nationals.
“It’s exciting, but it will be a big learning experience and a good learning experience as coach,” Geesey said. “It’s been excellent. At moments, I’m learning right along with the kids.”
