The Liberty-Benton FFA Chapter participated in the District 4 Soil Judging Contest on September 26 near Wapakoneta. The urban team placed 9th out of 26 teams in their division while the rural team placed 13th out of 27 teams in their division. The members on the L-B urban team were Aaron Niese who placed 18th individually in the district, followed by Lynn Christman, Danny Romick, and Jeff Schade. This team was coached by advisor Dave Reese. In the urban event, an area of a field was designated with a pit dug about six feet deep. There were three sites in the contest. In the urban contest, the students must evaluate the slope, land form, flood hazard, surface texture, subsurface texture, depth to seasonal high water table, depth to bedrock, hard dense soil layer, soil stability, land use, and recommended management practices.
In the rural event, an area of a field was designated with a pit dug about six feet deep. There were three sites in the contest. In the rural contest, each contestant must determine the slope, degree of erosion, texture, depth, air and water movement, land class, land use, and recommended conservation practices. The members on the L-B rural team consisted of Luke Taylor who placed 31st individually in the district, followed by David Kimmet, Nathan Trough, and Allen Warner. This team was coached by advisor Mark Badertscher. The local chapter would like to thank Jeff Schimmoeller for providing practice pits for students to study during class labs.
In other FFA news, members of the Ag Mechanics class attended the Farm Science Review in London, Ohio on September 19 to learn about the latest farm machinery, test plots, experimental research, and careers in agribusiness. Students attending were John Graham, David Kimmet, Matt Martin, Aaron Niese, Jason Schimmoeller, Andrew Schroeder, Luke Taylor, and Allen Warner.