BROOKINGS — More than 100 youth participated in the 40th annual Rangeland and 19th annual Soils Days on June 12-13 in Watertown.
Adrik Schoon, of White River, won the Top Hand Award in the …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, below, or purchase a new subscription.
Please log in to continue |
BROOKINGS — More than 100 youth participated in the 40th annual Rangeland and 19th annual Soils Days on June 12-13 in Watertown.
Adrik Schoon, of White River, won the Top Hand Award in the 14-18 age division of the rangeland contest. For the all-around award, Schoon won first place in the Go-Getter rangeland speech contest, second in the display contest and fifth individually in rangeland judging. He received a traveling trophy that will be his until next year’s event.
Schoon lives on a ranch, and credits that upbringing, along with his dad’s influence, with instilling an early love of the land. He said Rangeland and Soils Days are a fun way to meet new people and learn from experts and his peers.
“I learned a lot from so many talks this year,” he said. “That was really cool, to see a lot of young people stepping up to that.”
A joint effort between South Dakota State University Extension, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Codington County Conservation District, Rangeland and Soils Days gave youth an opportunity to compete through displays, presentations, a land and homesite contest, and a rangeland contest. There are four 4-H and FFA divisions in the rangeland contest: New Rangers (ages 8-10), Wranglers (ages 11-13), Scouts (ages 14-18) and Go-Getters (ages 14-18).
The top Go-Getter range judging 4-H team is from Jerauld County, and was comprised of Ridge Roduner, Hayes Christensen, Robert Hine and Landen Christensen, all of Wessington Springs. The top 4-H soils judging team is from Kingsbury County, with Gavin Temme, Chase Temme and Breyton Johnson, all of De Smet. Both teams will represent South Dakota at the National Land and Range Judging Contest in 2025.
Youth involved in 4-H and FFA ages 14-18 can participate in the Land and Homesite contest to learn more about soils. In the contest they determine soil texture and type, interpret soil limiting factors, and determine land capability while providing management recommendations. The Homesite Evaluation helps students determine suitability of the site for building foundations, lawns and landscaping, septic systems and sewage lagoons.
“Rangeland and Soils Days helps students learn critical skills to determine soil type, plant communities, habitat suitability, and soil suitability for homesites, among other skills,” said Krista Ehlert, assistant professor and SDSU Extension range specialist. “Students also can develop their public speaking skills in a speech contest and spend time with professionals in both range and soil sciences, giving them ideas and exposure to future career opportunities and mentors.”
For more information on Rangeland and Soils Days, contact Ehlert at 605-394-2236.
Rangeland contest results
Team contests
4-H Go-Getter Team Results
1. Jerauld County Team 1: Ridge Roduner, Hayes Christensen, Robert Hine and Landen Christensen, all of Wessington Springs. Coached by Wade Christensen and Brady Duxbury.
2. Jerauld County Team 2: Peyton Walz, Nathan Gaikowski, Bailey Yost and Mercedes Jones, all of Wessington Springs. Coached by Wade Christensen and Brady Duxbury.
3. SD Invaders: Colt Pickell, Leola; Adrik Schoon, White River; Johnathon Neuharth, Fort Pierre; and Lidia Dupraz, Aurora.
FFA Go-Getter Team Results
1. Sunshine Bible Academy FFA: Dakota Boersma, Daraby Boersma and Tessa Hinman. Coached by Jason Burma.
2. West Central FFA: Alex Siemonsma, Humboldt; Sam Handberg, Stella Siemonsma and Kenasyn Johnson, all of Hartford. Coached by Linda Petersen.
3. Florence FFA: James Kahnke, Karter Kohlenberg, Keaton Zubke and Logan Kahnke. Coached by Adam Koll.
Wrangler Team Judging
1. Spink County: Haven Heber, Wessington Springs; Kinze Haskell, Wyatt Lambert, and Leo Johnson, all of Frankfort.
2. Lawrence County: Katy Scott and Tayzi Herrmann, both of Whitewood.
Individual results
4-H Go-Getter Judging
Ridge Roduner, Wessington Springs
Landen Christensen, Wessington Springs
Hayes Christensen, Wessington Springs
Mercedes Jones, Wessington Springs
Adrik Schoon, White River
Bailey Yost, Wessington Springs
Robert Hine, Wessington Springs
Johnathon Neuharth, Fort Pierre
Peyton Walz, Wessington Springs
FFA Go-Getter Judging
Dakota Boersma, Sunshine Bible Academy FFA
Daraby Boersma, Sunshine Bible Academy FFA
Kenasyn Johnson, West Central FFA
James Kahnke, Florence FFA
Sam Handberg, West Central FFA
Ketan Zubke, Florence FFA
Stella Siemonsma, West Central FFA
Karter Kohlenberg, Florence FFA
Alex Siemonsma, West Central FFA
Tessa Hinman, Sunshine Bible Academy FFA
Go-Getter Talks
Adrik Schoon, White River
Johnathon Neuharth, Fort Pierre
Caleb Gaikowski, Webster
Go-Getter Display
Johnathon Neuharth, Fort Pierre
Adrik Schoon, White River
Caleb Gaikowski, Webster
Scouts
Scouts Judging
Lidia Dupraz, Aurora
Caleb Roth, Highmore
Karlie Kammerer, Piedmont
Faith Frink, Wall
Skyler Plucker, Lennox
Scouts Talk
Karlie Kammerer, Piedmont
Wranglers
Wrangler Judging
Jesse Schoon, White River
Katy Scott, Whitewood
Kyle Gebhart, Meadow
Wyatt Lambert, Doland
Tayzi Herrmann, Whitewood
Wrangler Talks
Haven Heber, Wessington Springs
Jesse Schoon, White River
Katy Scott, Whitewood
Wrangler Displays
Kyle Gebhart, Meadow
Katy Scott, Whitewood
Jesse Schoon, White River
Wrangler Plant Mounts
Wyatt Lambert, Doland
New Rangers
New Rangers Judging
Mya Koenig, Fairfax
Emelia Stoebner, Webster
Vada Enfield, Letcher
Neva VanderPoel, Pipestone, Minn.
Brielle Schoon, White River
New Rangers Talks
Harley Heber, Wessington Springs
Vada Enfield, Letcher
Beau Enfield, Letcher
New Rangers Display
Harley Heber, Wessington Springs
Della Scott, Whitewood
Beau Enfield, Letcher
New Rangers Plant Mounts
Cora Larson, Langord
Skylar Bender, Britton
Vada Enfield, Letcher
Top Hand Awards
New Ranger
Harley Heber, Wessington Springs
Wrangler
Jesse Schoon, White River
Go-Getter
Adrik Schoon, White River
Soils Days results
Team contests
4-H Team Soils Judging Results
Kingsbury County 4-H: Gavin Temme, Chase Temme and Breyton Johnson, all of De Smet. Coached by Dave VanderWal.
SE Land No. 1: Ryker Bradley, Luke Horstman and Tucker Peterson, all of Salem. Coached by Tanner Peterson, Tri-Valley.
SE Land No. 2: Espn Althoff, Kendall McAreavey and Ireland McAreavey, all of Crooks; and Logan Raap, of Montrose. Coached by Tanner Peterson, Tri-Valley.
Individual contests
4-H Soils Judging
Brooks Foss, Corson County
Ryker Bradley, SE Land No. 1
Chase Temme, Kingsbury County
Espn Althoff, SE Land No. 2
Jocelyn Wagner, Spink County
Breyten Johnson, Kingsbury County
Tucker Peterson, SE Land No. 1
Remie Roduner, Jerauld County Team 1
Gavin Temme, Kingsbury County
Kendall McAreavey
FFA Soils Judging
Brooks Foss, Corson County
Ryker Bradley, SE Land No. 1
Chase Temme, Kingsbury County
Espn Althoff, SE Land No. 2
Jocelyn Wagner, Spink County
Breyten Johnson, Kingsbury County
Tucker Peterson, SE Land No. 1
Remie Roduner, Jerauld County Team 1
Gavin Temme, Kingsbury County
Kendall McAreavey
FFA Soils Judging
Logan Nielsen, DeSmet FFA