By Nancy Neff
nneff@nmpaper.com
NORTH MANCHESTER — In just three years’ time, the Manchester High School soil judging team has met its goal to advance to national competition. The team comprised of Justus Metzger, Skyler Michael, Guy Stephen and Sheila Winger will compete against numerous other soil judging teams across the nation in Oklahoma in May 2019.
A young team with mostly sophomores – only Michael is a junior – they’ve competed together for three years. As the first soil judging team under the guidance and direction of Gwen Mise, agriculture science and business teacher, they’ve driven themselves to improve each year.
“They’ve been very goal-oriented,” said Mize. “The goal they set last year was to go to state competition and they accomplished that. This year, their goal was to go to state and national and they’ve done that. They’re very driven, fun and willing to work hard.”
The foursome has not only a great work ethic, but also a strong team principle, added Mize.
In soil judging, each team member is evaluated for knowledge in the texture, color and drainage properties. At the state competition, Michael ranked second overall.
“I just had a good day,” said Michael, with a smile. “We all take turns having a good day. It’s never always the same strong person at each competition. There are times where one of us will look at the others and say, ‘hope this is a good day for you because I think it’s going to an off day for me.’”
Stephen added with a laugh, “I just hope we all don’t have an off day when we go to nationals.”
The teamwork and knowledge started in the 2015-2016 school year, when they agreed their FFA chapter needed a soil team.
“We all started (in FFA) when we were in eighth grade,” said Stephen. “There wasn’t a soil team (at that time) and thought we needed a soil team – said let’s go; let’s do this!”
Like any other skill, it takes a lot of practice. Mize emphasized the team doesn’t study and evaluate dirt – it’s soil, adding that she’s been learning along with her students.
“We knew nothing at first,” said Metzger. “There are all these rules that we have to memorize. We have to know soil by the color, texture, how well it ribbons and how the (soil) sample will drain. When we go to nationals, we’re not allowed to use posts (in the ground) to determine the land’s slope. We have to be able to determine the slope by sight.”
Ribboning is working a clump of moistened soil in your hand, rubbing it between thumb and finger to create a “ribbon.” The test helps determine the best use of soil at the site – whether for construction or farming. If the ribbon is more clay-like, it is not as sturdy for construction. The team also rates how well the drainage is in the soil and the slope of the land as well.
“If you can get the drainage and slope figured out, you usually do well (in competition),” said Winger. “There’s no talking amongst ourselves during (meet). So it really does depend on our own individual knowledge.”
A lot of that knowledge and confidence was thanks in part to a former teammate and classmate.
“There’s someone we haven’t mentioned, who really deserves to be recognized for our success,” said Michael. “We learned so much from Tyler Sivits, who transferred to our school from North Miami last year. North Miami has a really strong soil judging team and he taught us a lot.”
After graduating last year, Sivits continues to cheer on and motivate his former teammates, even coming from Purdue University to attend the state contest. Sivits’ continued involvement has helped him decide he wants to be an agriculture science teacher, said Mize.
“We’ve learned more than just how to judge soil,” said Stephen. “We’ve learned to work with others, to respect and talk to other schools’ teams. We cheer each other on. We may be opponents in the competition, but we’re friends and have a mutual respect for each other.”
Mize added soil judging skills are not isolated to the agriculture science field of study.
“What they’ve learned in the past three years has been a tremendous amount,” said Mize. “What they’ve learned will help them for the rest of their lives in any career field they pursue – teamwork, respect for others, hard work, attention to detail and confidence. This is a great group of kids. We’ve also been fortunate to have great support from parents, school, the corporation and community as a whole. We’ve been blessed.”