BROOKINGS — The Wessington Springs 4-H Range Judging Team were named national champions during the National 4-H Range Judging Competition held in Oklahoma City earlier this month.
“Bringing home a national title says a lot about the caliber of the youth judges, their coaches and those organizations who have supported land and range judging education in South Dakota for the last 30 years,” said David Ollila, SDSU Extension Sheep Field Specialist, former FFA advisor and coach, who today provides technical support for all the South Dakota Range teams.
For more than 30 years, SDSU Extension together with the South Dakota Society of Range Management, S.D. Soil Health Coalition and S.D. Grassland Coalition have sponsored a two-day intensive soil and range judging training camp held each summer for 4-H and FFA youth ages 8 to 18.
Wessington Springs competed with more than 800 FFA and 4-H members from across the nation.
Wessington Springs team members include: Noah Hainy, first place individual; Rylie Stevens, second place individual; Landon Wolter, third place individual and Isaac Koulousek, fifth place individual.
The team’s coach is Craig Shryock.
Other South Dakota teams which competed include: Milbank FFA, Wessington Springs FFA Wolsey -Wessingtion FFA, McCook Central FFA, Rutland FFA, Lyman County FFA and Willow Lake FFA.

The FFA and 4-H participating teams qualified for the national event by placing among the top five teams in competitions held in their home states.
The first two days of the three-day event provided contestants opportunities to visit nearby practice sites to get acquainted with Oklahoma soils and plants with information available from range and soil experts.
The actual contest site remains a secret until contest day, so no one has an unfair advantage. Contestants and coaches gather on contest morning to find out the official contest location.
“These opportunities to expose students to the study of range and land management and provide students with skills and understanding of a valuable natural resource that drives the economies of rural America in the Great Plains,” Ollila said.
The award ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
The Land, Range and Homesite evaluation opportunities offered in South Dakota are coordinated by members of the South Dakota Section of the Society for Range Management.

2019 qualifying events
4-H and FFA youth ages 14 to18 interested in participating in the National Land and Range Judging Contest have the opportunity to participate in qualifying Land and Range contests offered during summer and fall events as follows:
South Dakota Rangeland Days: held June 18-19, in Redfield.
South Dakota Soils Days are held at the same time in the same place.
For more information about participating in 4-H or FFA range and land judging events contact your SDSU Extension 4-H Youth Program Advisor or your local FFA Advisor.