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Land Judging

WVU Extension Service’s land judging and homesite evaluation programs educate 4-H’ers about soil properties, management and suitability for homebuilding, land protection and conservation, water and the environment. In West Virginia, these practices are often used when building homes or for farming and agricultural purposes.

Participating youths frequently claim both regional and national titles at land judging competitions each year thanks to extensive, hands-on training in preparation for events.

Four students pose with their medals and plaques in recognition of winning the WVU Extension senior Land Judging and Homesite contests


2023 State Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation Results

The state land judging and homesite contest was held July 13, 2023, in Lewis County. More than 40 students braved the rain and soggy conditions, including teams from Clay, Greenbrier, Harrison, Jefferson and Monroe counties.

Clay County's senior team took home top honors in both the land judging and homesite evaluation competitions, which automatically qualifies them to compete in the National Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation Contest in Oklahoma City in 2024. Jefferson and Barbour counties’ senior teams also qualified to participate in the national contest based on their combined scores. Monroe/Greenbrier and Harrison are also eligible to travel to the competition. You can view the final results of the competition, including junior and individual results.

A special thank you to Steve Cronin for hosting the competition and to all of the volunteers who helped make this a successful event. Congrats to all of our winners!

Senior Land Judging Team Results:

  • Clay County Team - First Place (933 points)*
  • Monroe/Greenbrier Team - Second Place (863 points)*
  • Barbour County Team A (815 points)
  • Jefferson County Team (781 points)
  • Harrison County Team (348 points)
  • Monroe/Greenbrier Team B (270 points)
  • Barbour County Team B (240 points)
Junior Land Judging Team Results:

  • Barbour County Team - First Place (735 points)*
  • Monroe/Greenbrier Jr. A Team (583 points)
  • Jefferson County Team (457 points)
*Indicates medaled or won the competition.

Senior Individual Land Judging Results:

  • Lydia Shamblin, Clay County - First Place (343 points)*
  • Eii Broyles, Monroe/Greenbrier counties - Second Place (328 points)*
  • Patrick Boggs, Clay County (315 points)
  • Katelin Fullen, Monroe/Greenbrier counties (305 points)
  • Griffin Hart, Barbour County (301 points)
  • Hunter Townsend, Barbour County (290 points)
  • Savannah Rhodes, Clay County (275 points)
  • Hayley Elmore, Monroe/Greenbrier counties (270)
  • Hannah Hott, Jefferson County (265)
  • Hailey Owens, Jefferson County (259)

*Indicates medaled or won the competition.

Junior Individual Land Judging Results:

  • Lainey Taylor, Monroe/Greenbrier Jr. A (330 points)*
  • Ashton Tacy, Barbour County Jr. A (310 points)*
  • Luke Fullen, Monroe/Greenbrier Jr. A (253 points)

*Indicates medaled or won the competition.

Senior Homesite Evaluation Team Results:

  • Clay County Team - First Place (1,166 points)*
  • Jefferson County Team - Second Place (1,034 points)*
  • Barbour County Sr. A Team (838 points)

Senior Homesite Evaluation Individual Results:

  • Lydia Shamblin, Clay County - First Place (398 points)*
  • Patrick Boggs, Clay County - Second Place (388 points)*
  • Savannah Rhodes, Clay County (380 points)
  • Hunter Townsend, Barbour County (368 points)
  • Hailey Owens, Jefferson County (350 points)
  • Katherine Taylor, Jefferson County (348 points)
  • Hannah Hott, Jefferson County (336 points)
  • Natalie Remias, Clay County (326 points)
  • Griffin Hart, Barbour County (316 points)
  • Andrew Stone, Jefferson County (312 points)

Junior Homesite Evaluation Team Results:

  • Jefferson County (594 points)*
  • Harrison County (334 points)

Junior Homesite Evaluation Individual Results:

  • Silas Luttrell, Jefferson County (270 points)*
  • Owen Hart, Barbour County (198 points)*
*Indicates medaled or won the competition.

    Land Judging in West Virginia

    For more information about the land judging program, contact:
    Jeff Skousen
    Email Jeff
    304-293-2667

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    Note: the above feed is from the Davis College's "Natural Resources Analysis Center" and the "Plant and Soil Sciences" categories. Extension currently has no dedicated feed; consider whether to create a specific category or label "Youth Agriculture" events with the keyword "land."