The Delaware Valley University Soil Judging Team — the Augering Aggies — recently traveled to Rhode Island for the Northeast Regional Soil Judging Competition.

Soil Judging is the pinnacle of experiential learning within the field of soil science and is highly applicable across other disciplines, including environmental science, agriculture, civil engineering, biology, etc.

This fall, the focus of the competition was on young glacial soils. The Aggies spent the weeks leading up to the trip learning in the classroom and field about the soil and landscape features they might see during the competition. The team learned about glacial landscapes, landforms, and soils, and even traveled to North Jersey to practice describing glacial soils.

Then, the Aggies traveled to Rhode Island and spent two long days describing practice soil profiles all around the state. The soils ranged from loess (wind-blown silt) to glacial outwash (rocks and sand from the melting glacier) to heavily-human-influenced sites. The team also got to climb on an esker, feel pure silt, and see plenty of colorful fall foliage.

The competition day itself was cool and sunny, and 76 total students from 11 universities participated. The students described three soil profiles individually and two as small groups. Several students placed in the individual competition, including Sarah deBeaumont (13th place), Owen Penczak (16th), Matt Rountree (29th), and James Goss (33rd). In the group portion, the Aggies placed sixth out of 14 groups. In the overall team competition (a complicated calculation that includes both individual and group scores), the Aggies placed fifth out of the 11 total teams and qualified for the National Competition in the spring.

The University of Maryland, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Delaware, and Penn State rounded out the top five teams that will represent the Northeast Region at the 2025 National Soil Judging Contest hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The regional competition was hosted by Dr. Mark Stolt of the University of Rhode Island, along with many helpers from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This experience allowed the students to see many new soils and landforms as well as interact with students, faculty, and professionals from around the region.

“Soil Judging as an educational experience made me fall in love with soils,” said deBeaumont. “Every place we travel, I am completely in awe of the different landscapes and the diversity of soils, as well as the hard work it takes to host and compete in these competitions. I’m immensely proud of all my teammates, and I am very excited for our future!”

All of the Aggies learned quickly, became experts at hand-texturing sand and silt, and represented the university well. Other DelVal students who participated included Alex Lacey and Finn Keenan. The team is coached by Dr. Jaclyn Fiola and Steve Dadio.

Learn more about the Soil Judging Team at Delaware Valley University or e-mail Dr. Fiola at jaclyn.fiola@delval.edu or follow her on social media @DelValDigs.