Beech co-leads groundbreaking soil competition

Two years after the UC Davis soil judging team earned their first-ever qualification for the national competition, the university will host the regional contest next year in another first.

Ava-Rose Beech co-led the undergraduate soil judging team at the 2025 National Collegiate Soils Contest. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Leslie Roche, a professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Plant Sciences. This year, Beech is back at it – leading the 2026 team in competition and in hosting.

Support the team by donating to their UC Davis-sponsored Crowdfund site, here!

Soil judging contests encourage team effort and individual ability to identify, evaluate, classify and describe soil profiles, according to the webpage of Science Societies, which is a group of organizations that sponsor the competition. These contests take place in soil pits – holes dug in the earth that expose the various layers of soil underground.

Soil is where plants begin, Beech noted.

“Plants depend on the soil beneath them, and soil judging teaches students to read the texture, structure, drainage and layers that shape what can grow where, and how to manage soils for plant health and ecological health,” Beech wrote.

Soil is central to everything from our food to clean water, carbon sequestration and the foundation of the ecosystems and cities we live in, Beech explained.

“We walk over soil every day, but soil judging is where students learn to stop, observe and pay attention to what is below them,” Beech added. “Students explore soil pits and learn to read the land’s texture, layers and history. They’re working out what different soils mean for farming, restoration, engineering, the climate and more.”

The UC Davis Soil Judging Team is run by four graduate student volunteers who put together weekly lectures, weekend field practices, overnight training trips and travel to competitions. Hosting the regional competition also involves “digging the pits, mapping the sites and expanding opportunities for students from other schools to connect with each other and the landscape we are in.”

Soil judging “brings people together from across disciplines,” Beech wrote, and the team has had students from a variety of departments.

From the pit, undergrads see new horizons

Undergraduates on the team have been practicing their skills in the course SSC 198. Now, they’re ready to take what they’ve learned in lecture to the pit.

“I’m really enjoying preparing for regionals because there are so many cool and diverse soils around Davis, and I am able to fill out my soil judging skills,” team member Jocelyn Hillhouse remarked.

“I’m excited to explore the diversity of NorCal’s soils alongside teammates who each bring a unique perspective to the pit,” team member Abbie Zahler said. “As a student from out of state, learning to identify these soils firsthand, with their help, is the kind of experience that will prepare me for a career in California agriculture.”

The top three teams will advance to the 2027 National Collegiate Soil Judging Competition, to be hosted April 11-16, 2027, by Colorado State University. 

The UC Davis soil judging team placed third in the 2024 Region 6 Collegiate Soil Judging Contest and sixth in the 2025 National Collegiate Soils Contest.

“For me, soil judging is a way to hone the field skills I have already learned through courses, but have grown wary of using due to a lack of regular practice,” team member Rayna Goodman said. “Through the active hands-on experience offered through the soil judging lab time and regional tournament, I expect my confidence in classifying soils to soar, such that I can approach future career opportunities with my head held high!”

The UC Davis Soil Judging Team Support Fund is crowdfunding to help cover costs including vans, fuel, gear, food, lodging, entry fees and hosting the regional competition. Donating to the fund gives students invaluable field experience outside a classroom setting and a reason to explore diverse areas of California that many would not see otherwise, Beech wrote.