The MU Soils Judging team placed 4th in a field of 16 at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference, held April 9-12 in Canyon, Texas. Mizzou, scoring only one point behind the third-place team, was represented by 22 CAFNR students from the School of Natural Resources and the Division of Plant Science and Technology. Emma Knudsen, a junior in environmental science was the top scoring individual from MU and won 5th place. Sam Lestina and Kali Dolson, both seniors in environmental science, also scored in the top 20 for individuals.
During a soil judging contest, students have a week to learn how to characterize and classify different soil types. They also learn the geology and natural history of the contest area. The MU soil judging team has become a strong force in collegiate soil judging with top places in many recent regional and national contests. This year’s team was the biggest in history and had many new participants, including several freshmen. The next competition will be in October 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska.
All students are welcome to join the team. Contact the coaches Kerry Clark (clarkk@missouri.edu), associate research professor in the Division of Applied Social Sciences and Director of CAFNR International Programs, or Joey Meinert (meinertj@missouri.edu), instructor in the School of Natural Resources, to join. This contest was supported with funding from the School of Natural Resources and the CAFNR Academic Programs Office.