WCHS FFA’s Land Judging team gets some help making it to nationals

The Whitley County Conservation District is helping a local high school team attend a national competition and is helping a student attend a state camp this summer.

Whitley County High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Land Judging Team.

The Whitley County Conservation District presented the Whitley County High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Land Judging Team with a donation check to help with expenses on their upcoming trip to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where they will compete in May 4 national contest.

Team members are RJ Osborne, Caleb Canada, Kim Hudson, Macy Paul, Kelsie Blankenship and James York.

This team’s journey started with learning the information about land judging presented to them in their horticulture classes. Once the information was taught, the team was then picked from the local contest that was held during the class.

From there the team practiced several times before winning the regional contest. RJ Osborne was the high individual in that contest.

By winning the regional contest the team advanced onto state competition located in Hardinsburg in early November, which it won. Caleb Canada was the highest scoring individual in the state, while Osborne placed fifth individually.

Land judging involves each individual team member having to examine the land to determine its slope, depth, amount of erosion, and other physical characteristics. After judging the site, they then determine what conservation measures need to be applied in order to improve this site for the future.

They also apply their judgements to determine what would be the best use for the land from an agriculture or urban/rural perspective as well.

The Whitley County Conservation District presented a scholarship to Whitley County High School student Mackenzie Black to help her attend the 2023 Kentucky Forest Leadership Camp.

The Whitley County Conservation District has also presented a scholarship to Whitley County High School student Mackenzie Black to help her attend the 2023 Kentucky Forest Leadership Camp.

The Kentucky Forest Leadership Program is where students can explore the many aspects of forestry and related fields. The leadership camp concentrates on the following:

• Forestry – students will learn about tree and plant identification, forest evaluation and management, soil and water quality and fire management in Kentucky’s forests.
• Entomology – students will learn about insect identification, collection, preservation and ecology. They will also learn about the positive and negative impacts insects can have on Kentucky’s forests.
• Wildlife – students will gain experience with different techniques to sample, identify and manage wildlife as well as conducting species diversity and population surveys in various Kentucky habitats.