A group of Liberty County 4-H members took top honors at the state 4-H land-judging contest Aug. 18 on the University of Georgia-Griffin campus.

The senior Liberty County team (ninth- through 12-grade students) earned first place and will represent Georgia at the national 4-H land-judging contest next spring in Oklahoma City. Additionally, team members are master 4-H’ers and will be recognized at the state 4-H congress, the annual awards banquet for Georgia 4-H. Team members are Addison James, Jordyn James, Donnie Pulliam and Simone DeBrossard. Addison James was the high individual winner, earning an additional master 4-H’er status.

The junior team (fourth- through eighth-graders) placed third at the contest. Team members were Janell Bacon, Alyssa Farmer, Zachary Fuller, Abigail Kennedy, Hannah Kennedy, Casey Lindeman-Spence, Carelis Rivera-Mangual and David Rivera-Mangual.

During the contest, participants evaluated four soil stations, two that represent North Georgia soils and two that represent South Georgia soils. At each station, they determined the soil’s texture, topsoil thickness, effective depth, erosion, permeability, drainage and slope of the land. Based on that information, the participants made vegetative, mechanical and fertilizer recommendations.

“It really excites me to see our 4-H members participating in these educational, hands-on activities,” said Kasey Bozeman, county 4-H agent and team coach. “I tell the kids all the time, this isn’t rock science; it is soil science. This means we might get a little dirty, but we are going to have a lot of fun.”

To learn more about 4-H programming in Liberty County, call 876-2133 or email uge3179@uga.edu.