Virginia Tech Soil Judging Team takes first place, qualifies for nationals
The Soil Judging Team in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences earned first place at the Southeast Region Soil Judging Contest on Oct. 5 and qualified for the upcoming National Soil Judging Championship in April 2024. This also marks the team's sixth win in the last 12 regional contests.
For the contest, teams were tasked with describing four soil pits, following extensive practice on three college farms near Morgantown, West Virginia.
Under the guidance of John M. Galbraith, professor of soil science, the Soil Judging Team assessed diverse soil types, including floodplains, footslopes, and uplands.
“I am very proud of this team and the way they represented Virginia Tech at the contest by their citizenship and their performance,” Galbraith said.
The team included students Delia Alcorn, Grace Bartlett, Clara Betts, Carmen Curry, Danielle Davies, Liz Eroshenko, Sam Herrin, Gracie Litsinger, Joe Paterson, Rachel Parmele, Matthew Smith, and Will Ubben.
Virginia Tech has previous victories in both virtual and on-site national contests. The upcoming National Soil Judging Championship in Ames, Iowa, will mark 24 consecutive years that the team has qualified for the national contest.
