From April 27 to May 3, 2024, the Lewis Cass FFA team participated in the National Land and Homesite Contest in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team was invited to compete in the National Contest after placing high enough to make it out of state. The team consisted of Lily Yax, Trinety Gillem, Allara Henry, Riley Johnson, and Brystalin Gillem was brought as an extra. LJ Hillis, Kyle Henry, Carter Armstrong, and Maggie Taylor were brought as mentors for each of the contestants.
The National Soils Contest is very different from the Indiana contest. Judging the soil properties is much harder than it is in Indiana. It is also confusing because the soil properties are a lot different in Oklahoma than in Indiana. At the National Contest, contestants rely more on getting the slope of the soil and the surface and subsoil textures correct. Without getting the slope and textures correct, it is very hard to get their management factors correct. The management factors are also a lot different than in Indiana. The management factors for homesites mostly coincide with a list of numbers the contestants have to remember in order to get correct. The land site management factors are complicated because the contestant has to put the site in a class, and they have to remember rules that could drop the site to lower classes.
After months of studying, the team ended up placing 38 out of 58 in the homesite and placed 61 out of 99 in the landsite. The team was really hoping for a higher score, but they were unable to get their slopes correct which ended up costing them a lot of points. Mike Appleton said, “ I hope we can take another team next year, so we can try to learn more about the slopes.”
While in Oklahoma, the team visited many different attractions. The first stop was at Lambert’s Cafe in Springfield, Missouri. This is a famous restaurant where they throw your rolls at you from across the restaurant. The next morning, they visited the Oklahoma City Stockyards. They were able to watch a live auction and see all the cattle run through the yards. This was a very good learning experience for people who had never been there before. It is very interesting to watch how much the cattle really sell for. Lots are usually bought for between $40,000 and $200,000. The next major attraction was the Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Oklahoma City. The Lewis Cass FFA sponsors the meal here. It is a very cool place to be because there have been many famous people that have eaten there such as Gene Autry, John Wayne, and Ronald Reagan. That evening we also visited the Oklahoma City bombing site. This was a very valuable experience for everyone who went. It is a really interesting experience to learn about what happened. Lily Yax said, “ The Oklahoma City Bombing site was my favorite part of the trip because it was really eye-opening to see how many people died.”
Hopefully, there will be another team that makes it to the national contest next year. It is a very valuable experience for everyone who goes, and every year the scores should improve. With the mentorship of this previous team, we should be able to have a team go next year. Good luck to next year’s FFA teams.
