2026 National Soil Judging Contest - Day 0 : The Virginia Piedmont

On Friday, March 20th, we visited the property of Scott and Shea Bambu near Halifax Virginia in the Virginia Piedmont region. We learned about their goat operation, the challenges of crop and pasture production on Piedmont Ultisols, and dug and described two beautiful soil pits. For many team members this was the first time describing soil colors on the 2.5YR and 10R pages, and feeling very fine-textured, kaolinitic soil materials that by hand texture are very different from our Midwestern mixed mineralogy soils!

A classic Piedmont Ultisol formed in residuum from metamorphic rocks

The team with Scott and Shea Bambu, with a representation of several soil profiles from their property and Starbuck the goat on the left.

2026 National Soil Judging Contest - Day -1!

 The first order of business for the 2026 National Soil Judging contest was traveling from Borlaug Hall to Clarksville, VA. The drove in shifts to complete the ~18 hour journey from Minnesota to Virginia. This took us across some familiar and not so familiar landscapes! The glaciated north central plains and Prairie Peninsula Region, the Alleghany Plateau, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and finally to the Virginia Piedmont, where we rested prior to an amazing Day 0 field day at Scott and Shea Bambu's property near Halifax, Virginia.

The team just prior to leaving Borlaug Hall on March 18th. Snow on the ground but a beautiful spring day!

Our journey from Minnesota to Virginia!