I helped mark the official scorecards today for the Montgomery County Soil and Water Conservation District's annual soil judging contest. I attended my first contest as a Freshman in High School 44 years ago about this time of year. I competed for University of Ilinois at the collegiate level and participated in the National Contest near Clemson, South Carolina in 1977.
Usually a local conservation contractor will dig the pits with his backhoe. The official scorecards are marked. The students arrive to look at the practice pits and get some hints as to how the judges are marking their cards. Several soil pits are then evaluated by the students and they are asked to make interpretations for soil conservation, dwellings, and septic tank filter fields. They are graded as to how closely they match the official scorecard. The students and teachers seem to enjoy the chance to get out of the classroom. I enjoy the chance to look at soils in an open pit. There is no better way to learn about your soil. It has been a number of years since I helped.
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| Pits are dug and judged |
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| Students gather around the practice pit |
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| Students evaluating the soil |
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