Contest Attracts Hundreds to Florida's Copeland Farms

Students from across the State participated in the annual Florida State Land Judging Contest held at the Alachua's Copeland Farm.  The 50th annual Florida State Land Judging Contest that has students evaluate four possible types of land uses and teaches youngsters how to properly evaluate land for potential uses, attracted some 148 participants.

In all, 14 middle school FFA chapters, 15 high school FFA chapters, 4 middle school 4H chapters, and 4 high school 4H chapters made their way to Alachua for the day-long event.  Each of the teams had already won regional land-judging contests.

After a kick-off breakfast and registration, the contestants were greeted by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Commissioner Charles Bronson and then the 37 teams were broken up into four groups guided by officials from NRCS and the Fish and Wildlife Commission.  The students were then bussed to Copeland Farms where the competition began.

Land judging involves evaluating four possible types of uses including the cultivation of crops or some other method deemed to be for conservation purposes with the final evaluation being the determination of suitability for home construction.

“The purpose of the contest is to involve the students in several aspects of soil and water conservation and land management. It teaches [students] to evaluate the land more critically and think fast on their feet to see the subtle changes in different types of land. It’s a challenging contest where students get the opportunity to think, study, and learn,” said FFA advisor Paul Webb.

“Judging and evaluating the potential uses of land is more than a competition – it’s a necessity.  Everybody should realize the importance of the soils and what it is teaching our kids,” said Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services environmental specialist Joel Love.

John Herbert, Jr., former assistant professor at the University of Florida (UF) College of Agriculture, recalled the beginning of Florida’s land-judging competitions some 50 years ago.  “I remember so many of the individuals that participated in this activity had never been out of their home county.  They attended the State contest, and some of them went to the national contest, and some of those individuals, oddly enough, had never seen a two-story building,” Herbert said.

At the conclusion of competition, Clermont Middle School FFA, Eastridge High School FFA, Calhoun County 4H middle school division, and the Manatee County 4H high school division were selected as the four winners.  Both of the high school-level winning teams will go on to the National Land Judging Contest that is held from May 5-7, 2009, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Your contact NRCS visual information specialist Gail Hendricks at 352-338-9560.