North Dakota State University

State 4-H Crop Judging Contest

Crop judging participants evaluate crops for seed and factors affecting market quality, and identify crop and weed seeds and plants. Becoming a proficient crop judge includes:

• identification of crops grown in North Dakota and the region; and
• the correct identification of weed mounts and weed seeds.

Contact your local extension office for local contest information

State 4-H Land Judging Contest

The State 4-H and FFA Land Evaluation Contest is open to all youth 8-18 years old. It is important for contestants to be competent in three skills; texturing, estimating slope, and determining the depth of surface and subsurface horizons.

The four age divisions are:

• Junior 4-H Division - must be enrolled in 4-H in the county you represent and be age 8-13 on September 1^st (13 year olds may judge in either 4-H division).

• Senior 4-H Division - must be enrolled in 4-H in the county you represent and be age 13-18 on September 1^st (13 year-olds may judge in either 4-H division).

• FFA Division.

• Open division for youth 8-18 and not eligible for one of the other divisions.

4-H team scores will be determined from the top three individual scores from a county team. There is no limit as to number of participants a county may enter. Up to 3 counties may join to make a team provided that none of the counties involved have 3 or more members in that age division.

Members of past winning 4-H teams (senior division) or members of teams that have participated in a national 4-H land judging contest are not eligible.

Contact your local extension office to register.

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State 4-H range judging contest

Range judging is learning to "read" the range to make proper management decisions.

Contestants learn to:

* recognize the components of the range resource,
* evaluate the ecosystem's current condition,
* develop management practices to improve the ecosystem, and
* develop better understanding of the plant communities.

Learning to judge range provides effective tools that are used to manage the range resource. The objective of the contest is to teach participants some basic principles of range ecology, including soil-plant interaction, plant-animal interaction and plant succession.

Contact your local extension office for registration.