By MACKENZIE KEPHART
Moapa Valley Progress
FFA members from all corners of the state met in Lund, Nevada on Thursday, Sept. 19, to compete in the Nevada FFA State Soils and Homesite Competition. The event garnered 29 students from nine different teams each team consisting of four members. When it was all done, the Moapa Valley FFA teams had taken first place in both the Soils and Homesite competitions.
The event began Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. with students being split into separate groups and sent off to one of four soil pits.
Students spent 20 minutes at each pit determining the class of the soil and the best use of that soil. Students who participated in the Homesite competition used two of the four pits soils classifications to determine if the soil in that area would be good ground on which to build a home.
Students determined the classification of the soil through various techniques. They used the texture of both the surface and the subsurface to help them determine the land class. Students also determined erosion, depth of the pit, slope and other factors to place the land class.
The Moapa Valley team won the Soils competition with 725 points total as a team score. Ryan McMurray won as the first place individually with a score of 206 points. Mackenzie Kephart came second place with a score of 185 points. Iain McMurray came third in the Soils Competition with a score of 170 points.
The Virgin Valley FFA team came in second place with a cumulative score of 511. Smokey Valley FFA took third place with a team score of 395 points.
In the Homesite competition, Moapa Valley FFA won with a team total of 654 points. Maggie Martin came in first place with a score of 183 points. Ryan McMurray came in second place with a score of 175 points. Iain McMurray came in third place with a score of 160 points.
Smokey Valley FFA won as the second-place team with a total score of 512 points.
“I compete in soils because it is one of the many contests that FFA has to offer that allows you to travel around the state and meet new people, have new experiences and to grow as a person,” said MV team member Ryan McMurray.
