Students dig in to learning with soil judging

The rain held off Wednesday morning as students from six area high schools gathered at a piece of conservation land just north of Rockwell City.
But even without the precipitation, the students, all FFA members, were planning to get muddy. They converged on the field for an annual soil judging contest, hosted by the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Sac and Calhoun counties, as well as the Natural Resources Conservation Services. In the field, students looked at three pits, dug the day before by Steve Bawden of B&S Tiling and Excavating. Each pit offered slightly different soils, elevations and acidity, which the students were able to test.
The aim of soil judging competitions is two-fold, South Central Calhoun ag teacher Brian Lantz said. One is to help students learn more about the dirt, because everyone who owns a home will want to know about the land on which their house sits. 
Read more in the Sept. 30 edition.