Nineteen members of the Holdrege FFA and Ag Education Program competed in the Franklin
Land Judgingcontest on October 7th near Franklin, NE. The contest was hosted by the Lower

Republican Natural Resources District with over 210 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.
5 out of the 19 Holdrege contestants received ribbons for the day. Freshman Blake Mattson
earned a White Ribbon. Blue ribbon placers were: Breckynn Edgren and Haley Kunz. Receiving
Purple Ribbons: Katelyn Weekly (1st Place) and Marcus May (9th).

In the team competition, Holdrege’s top team of Breckynn Edgren, Haley Kunz, Marcus May, and
Katelyn Weekly earned a spot at the State Land Contest as the 1st place qualifying school. Other
state qualifying schools were Alma, Franklin, and Southwest.
The Holdrege FFA had four students compete at the State Land Judging Competition near
Beatrice, Nebraska on Wednesday, October 14th. The contest was hosted by the Lower Big Blue
Natural Resources District based in Beatrice. Thirty-four Nebraska schools competed in the
contest with 151 individuals competing. The team of Marcus May, Katleyn Weekley, Haley Kunz
and Breckynn Edgren represented Holdrege. Earning ribbons for Holdrege were Marcus May
earning a white ribbon placing 38th and Haley Kunz with a 17th place blue ribbon placing
Holdrege in 14th as a team. The top five teams in the competition earn the right to compete at
the National Contest in El Reno OK. Teams qualifying for the National Contest in April 2027 are
Hampton, Johnson County Central, Heartland, Ansley and Johnson Brock.

The next Holdrege FFA event will see six members participating in the 99th National FFA
Convention in Indianapolis, IN. The Holdrege Chapter will be recognized with a Two-Star
National Chapter Rating. This is the 19th time in 20 years for the Holdrege Chapter to earn a
National ranking. Rankings are earned by the top 10% of over 9,400 FFA Chapters in the nation.
Next up will be District Livestock Judging and CDE Contests on Wednesday, November 12th
inKearney. Chapter Fruit Sales are underway and will be completed by November 6th. Delivery of
products is set for December 8th.