MEMBER NEWS
2026 Regional Collegiate Soil Judging
The Region IV Soil Judging Contest was held October 19-22, 2026 and hosted by Texas A&M University–Kingsville from October 19–22, 2026. The team, coached by Dr. Kristofor Brye finished 1st in the team-judged-pit portion of the contest and was in 4th-place overall. Team member, KC Joyner, was the 6th high individual in the contest.
2026 (fall) U of A Soil Judging Team: Left to right: Noah Solomon, KC Joyner, Dr. Kris Brye, Dario Cano, and Tayvyn Putman.
Former Gray-Rutledge scholarship awardee wins regional soil judging contest. Jonathan Brye, former U of A student, AAPSC Gray-Rutledge scholarship awardee, and member of U of A Soil Judging team, recruited and instructed/coached the Louisana State University soil judging team that placed 1st overall in the recent regional contest held in Kingsville, TX. The LSU team was 2nd in the team-judged portion of the contest and had the 1st and 4th high individuals in the contest. Jonathan is currently working toward a PhD at LSU, and resurrected soil judging at LSU after a 13-year hiatus. Congratulations to Jonathan and the LSU Team.
U of A Soil Judging Team Soliciting Donations
Because of ever tightening university budgets, donor support is essential to provide the resources necessary for students to participate in regional and national soil judging competitions. Costs for a student to participate in a contest is approximately $900 but can be higher when air travel is required. The AAPSC provides limited support for the U of A Soil Judging Team, but the Team is soliciting addition support from members and other individuals. By supporting soil judging, donors are investing not only in the team, but also in the education and training of the next generation of soil science professionals.
The Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences at the U of A has established a web site to facilitate donations for judging activities, including Soil Judging. Please consider donating to this important activity.
The link to the site is Bumpers Judging Teams · GiveCampus.
The site can also be reached by scanning the QR code.
2026 AAPSC Annual Meeting
The AAPSC held its annual meeting on October 16-17, 2026 at the Northeast Rich Research and Extension center in Harrisburg, Ar. The meeting was informative and the facilities and field tour were excellent. The AAPSC greatly appreciates the hospitality and assistance of Dr. Tim Burcham, Tanjia Kraft, and the staff of the NRREC for helping to make the meeting and field tour a success. their hospitality and assistance with the 2026 Annual Meeting and Field Tour.
The 2027 officers of the AAPSC elected at the meeting are: President - Zamir Libohova (z_libohova@hotmail.com), Vice-president - Greta Grishanova (gretahaustein@yahoo.com), Secretary-treasurer - Edgar Mersiovsky (emersiovsky@gmail.com), and Board Members Lisa Wood (lswood@uark.edu) and Larry Gray (lgray625@gmail.com)
For complete meeting minutes, click here.
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