The landscape of US soil judging in 2025, part II: Barriers faced by soil judging teams

Abstract

Soil judging is an experiential learning activity that involves describing and interpreting soil profiles in the field. At the college level, coaches and teams of undergraduate students practice in the classroom and field before traveling to multi‐day contests. To understand the current landscape of US soil judging, we surveyed 50 current soil judging coaches about their team funding mechanisms, challenges, and the sustainability of their program. We discuss the following potential barriers: coach time commitment and compensation, student recruitment and retention, cost of attending contests, difficulty of finding funding, and perceived valuation of soil judging by department and university administration. Coaches spend an average of 3–6 hours per week on soil judging‐related activities, but the majority receive no compensation for their efforts. Assistant coaches are even less likely to be compensated. Recruiting and retaining students likely contributes to coach time burdens, though some coaches reported more difficulties than others. A quarter of programs reported restricting their team size due to finances, and more than half of schools asked students to pay some amount of their own expenses when traveling to contests. Most teams cannot attend two contests per year unless the contest is nearby geographically, or if they spend significant time and effort fundraising. Financial support predominantly comes from grants and scholarships, followed by academic departments. Although soil judging does appear to be valued by administrators, these other barriers still exist. Addressing these obstacles is essential to support coaches and train the next generation of soil scientists.