CHADRON, Nebraska -- The Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District (UNWNRD) along with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) partnered to host the Area 1 Range Judging contest Sept. 15, near Alliance, Nebraska. 

The Range Judging Contest allows participants to test their knowledge of range plants and specific major land resource areas (MLRA’s) within a topographic region.  Within each area’s contest, participants are asked to identify a total of 24 plants as well as answer questions regarding the chosen MLRA sites. There are a total of six area contests held each fall across the state of Nebraska. 

The contest is divided into three divisions: Senior division is categorized as those participants that are a high school junior or senior; Junior division is categorized as those participants that are either a sophomore of below in class standing; and the adult division are those contestants who have graduated from high school.  The Area 1 Range Judging contest hosted 10 schools with 106 participants (25 seniors, 75 juniors and 6 in the adult division). 

In the Senior Division:

• Sidney High School - Champion team
• Banner County FFA - Reserve team
• Scottsbluff FFA - 3rd
• Cody-Kilgore FFA - 4th

Contestants’ scores were then calculated into individual scores:

• Luke Kahl of Chadron FFA -1st
• Graham Kovarik of Scottsbluff FFA - 2nd
• Makyla Mason of Banner County FFA - 3rd
• Grace Timm of Creek Valley FFA - 4th
• Zoe Fornander of Sidney High School - 5th
• Kord McMillen of Sidney High School - 6th
• Lily Teeple of Banner County FFA - 7th

In the Junior Division:

• Chadron FFA - Champion and 3rd
• Sidney High School - Reserve
• Scottsbluff FFA - 4th

Contestants’ scores were then calculated into individual scores:

• Cody Kahl of Chadron FFA - 1st
• Becca Reece of Sioux County FFA - 2nd
• James Koerber of Chadron FFA - 3rd
• Matthew Cabbage of Sidney High School - 4th
•  Adam Knaub of Banner County FFA - 5th
• Emilee Benzel of Sidney High School - 6th
• Owen Wess of Chadron FFA - 7th

In the Adult Division, Sidney High School’s instructor Seth Schuessler placed 1st, Kortni Burnett of Bridgport FFA placed 2nd, Justin Nollette of Cody-Kilgore FFA placed 3rd, Amanda Schmidt of Scottsbluff FFA placed 4th. Both Champion and Reserve teams have a chance to compete at the State Range Judging Contest hosted near Valentine on Sept. 29, 2021.

“Hosting this contest for 2021 allowed the students to get out of the classroom and into the outdoors for a day, which wasn’t offered in 2020," said Tricia Goes, UNWNRD Conservation Programs Specialist. "Students utilized their knowledge and had an enjoyable time testing their abilities at plant identification.”