Aldyn Hadley, Reporter

Twenty-seven members of the Holdrege FFA and Ag Education Program competed in the
Southwest Area Land Judging contest on October 2nd near Heartwell, NE. The contest was
hosted by the Tri Basin Natural Resources District with 194 contestants from thirteen schools
evaluating four sites for topsoil thickness, slope, topsoil and subsoil textures.  After determining
these factors each participant determined a land capability class and checked off recommended
practices for each site based on cropland or rangeland qualities. 
Sixteen of the twenty-seven Holdrege contestants received ribbons for the day. Holdrege
members that earned white ribbons were Carlos Mendoza, Micah Nelsen, Andrea Botello,
Derrek Marquardt, and Cooper Lindstrom. Red ribbon winners included: Kaelina Nelson, Sunder
Schemper, and Julia Rust. Blue Ribbon recipients were Jacob Moon, Cael Schmidt, Clay
Maloley, and Jett Johnson. Only the top ten individuals can receive a Purple Ribbon: Claire
Maloley (10th), Haley Kunz (8th), Marcus May (7th), and Kambryn Vaughn (2nd). Also
participating in the Adult, noncompetitive Division was Mitchell May. 
In the team competition, Holdrege’s top team of Kambryn Vaughn, Claire Maloley, Marcus
May, and Haley Kunz earned a spot at the State Land Contest as the 2nd qualifying school. Other
state qualifying schools were Alma, Overton, and Axtell. The State Land Evaluation contest will
take place on October 16th near Norfolk. 
The next FFA event will see several Chapter Members participating in the 97th National FFA
Convention. It will be broadcasted through RFD TV and www.ffa.org on October 23rd – 26th. The
Holdrege FFA Chapter will receive its sixteenth National Chapter Program Rating in the past
seventeen years.  Holdrege FFA Fruit Sales will also begin October 17th and run through
November 7th.