Barber said the competition also exposes students to knowledge they’ll likely need throughout their lives. He said, for example, they might one day need to know whether or not a piece of property they want to buy is suitable to build a home on or raise a particular crop on for years to come. He said the material takes a lot of time to master.

“These kids have learned what happens when you put forth effort – great things can happen. These students are a model to other students that it is OK to do something out of the ordinary, like land judging, because extraordinary things can happen with it,” Barber said.

Barber said the four students who participated in the national competition did more than compete. He said their hard work also afforded them the opportunity to tour the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, Cowboy Hall of Fame and eat at some of the most famous restaurants in the United States.

Sponsors for the students’ trip included NCFFA, Polk County Farm Bureau, Carolina Farm Credit, Polk County Rural Development, Polk County Soil and Water, Reride Tack Shop, Chinquapin Farm, Robert and Babs Strickland, and Bill and Kaye Ennis.