Video: The University of Minnesota's Soil Judging Team Moves on to the National Competition

The University of Minnesota Soil Judging Team has recently been featured in a video made by UMN Strategic Communications student Harriet Bennett! The piece highlights how the team has been preparing for the national contest in April 2025 after qualifying at the regional contest this fall. Check out the video above for insights on the road to Nationals - including an in-depth look at one of our meetings and insights from our team members. Thank you, Harriet, for highlighting the team! Please feel free to share the video using this link.

Give to the Max Day 2024: Support Transformative Soil Experiences

This fall, the UMN Soil Judging Team placed in the top 3 at the Region V Soil

Judging Contest–and qualified for the National Contest! This spring, the team will

travel to Stevens Point, Wisconsin to compete at the national level and expand

knowledge and love of soils. We need your help getting there!

Travel to soil judging contests is funded exclusively by donations. National and

regional contests are some of the most impactful experiences that soil judgers have

the opportunity to participate in. Judgers spend a week immersed in the soil of the

contest area, completing 4-5 practice pits per day. They learn about the geologic

history of the area, observe how land use impacts soils, and ask many good

questions (a UMN trademark). Competition day provides the opportunity to

interact with students from universities across the country and cultivate strong

team spirit and cohesion.

This year, the soil judging team has almost doubled in size–a testament to the fierce

passion, infectious enthusiasm, and commitment of the students. We’re asking for

your donations this Give to the Max Day to support transformative field experiences

for these soil judgers. You can make your contribution at this link:

https://makingagift.umn.edu/give/fund.html?id=8850.

Soil judging, and your gift, helps to nourish the next generation of soil,

agricultural, and environmental science professionals. Thank you so much

for your support on the road to Nationals!

With all our gratitude,

Amital Shaver, Co-Captain

2024 Region V Soil Judging: On to Nationals From Great Bend, Kansas!

We are excited to be back here on the soil judging blog – and to share the team’s experiences from this year’s regional contest at the end of September, hosted by Kansas State University in Great Bend, Kansas.

This year’s team of 8 students earned second place in team judging and third place overall to qualify for this spring’s National Contest in Stevens Point, Wisconsin! We had a judger place in the top ten. Go Gophers! We will be joined by fellow Region V teams Kansas State University (1st place) and Iowa State University (2nd place) in April in Wisconsin. 

This year’s regionals team. L to R: Ava McCune (co-captain), Brynn Miller, Annika Selstad, Tara Bluni, Anna Windels, Amital Shaver (co-captain), Finn Porter, Nic Jelinski (coach), Jenna Christenson. 

Located at a bend in the Arkansas River (which we learned from locals is pronounced ar-KAN-sas, like the state we were in), Great Bend sits between a large sand sheet and the Cheyenne Bottoms, a 64-square-mile wetland complex and an important stopover site for migratory birds. From dunes to floodplains, the team was able to dig into some diverse soils. In this year’s contest, the judgers were asked to assess pits for Hydric Soil Indicators. Our eyes were peeled for redoximorphic features!

A hydric soil in an interdune. Classification was tricky and debated with these! Check out those concentrations in the fourth horizon.

The dunes, covered in prickly vegetation, were often the land of Ustipsamments, and the team worked on honing clay percentages in sandy soils.

An Ustipsamment formed on a dune with 19% slope. With lamellae…!

Lamellae!

Eolian sand over alluvium parent materials.

We headed out to the Cheyenne Bottoms and got our hands on some much darker and clayier soils. The Gophers were excited to see some natric horizons, as well as beautiful gypsum rosettes. The presence of salts led to some alphabet soup horizons – Btsskyzg, for example.

Checking out structure in a floodplain soil.

Preparing samples for texturing.

Very different structure than in dunal soils.

The team loved group judging of complex pits, engaging in discussion and sharing interpretations. We loved getting into the nitty gritty during daily team meetings, learning more and more about area geology, and becoming one with our texture triangles.

One of the team’s first group pits. Coming to a consensus.

Color and texture team getting ‘er done.

We extend a huge thank-you for the generosity of donors, without which the incredible and formative experiences of soil judging would not be possible. The opportunity to travel, see soils nationwide, and connect with fellow students passionate about soil scientists helps cultivate the next generation of bridge-builders and soil, agricultural, and environmental science professionals. Thank you so much.

Practicing assessing slope with a clinometer.

Captains with our award wearing, of course, the classic Minnesota flannels.