Conservation on the Ground –
Lee County Hosts District Land Judging
by Anne Miller, District Administrative Coordinator, Lee County, AL
Lee County hosted the districts soil judging competition for the
central part of the state on Sarah Gullatte's family farm hosted by
Robert E. (Ed) Gullatte, Jr., Supervisor for the Lee County Soil and
Water Conservation District. The Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) and the Lee County Soil and Water Conservation
District assisted with the event.
Taking part in the competition were nine teams (three to four
students per team) and their sponsors. Local agricultural teachers,
Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisors, and NRCS employees
helped prepare students for the competition.
Four pits were dug in preparation for the contest. Teams were
required to evaluate four land-use practices - cropland, pastureland,
forestland and home site. According to Ken Johnson, Soil Scientist
with NRCS, "Land judging is a program that can help students learn abo
conserving land, water and the environment. Through land judging, you
make one soil different from another - why some soils are dry and other
feeling and rubbing soil between your fingers, and how to judge depth, e
permeability."
All of this information is used to classify land. Land classification tells ho
used without damaging it, how to protect it from erosion, prevent loss of
crop production.
Participants in the district competition were:
Horse Shoe Bend (Tallapoosa County) – 1st Place
Beulah (Lee County) -- 2nd Place
Wadley (Randolph County) -- 3rd Place
White Plaines (Calhoun County) -- 4th Place
Jemison High (Chilton County)
Lineville (Clay County)
Montevallo (Shelby County),
Talladega. (Talladega County),
Sumter High (Sumter County)
The top 4 winning teams will go to state competition.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activitie
gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and mar