Written collaboratively by Krista Ehlert, Jessalyn Bachler, former SDSU Extension Range Field Specialist, Emily Helms, Mitch Faulkner and Dave Ollila.
Foreword and History
Judging South Dakota Rangelands for Livestock and Wildlife Values is a major advance in the approach to contest judging of South Dakota rangelands. For 25 years beginning in the mid 1970s, range judgers identified plants and determined range site, range condition, and management practices for a given set of goals (Johnson et al., EC 731, 1979). In the mid 1990s, the need for a more contemporary judging contest was clear. Oklahoma led the way by changing the National Range Judging Contest in 1994. A year later, South Dakota followed. Several years of field tests and multiple revisions resulted in the current manual.
The current contest requires judges to identify plants, to determine ecological sites, and to calculate similarity indices. Contestants also assess rangeland habitat suitability for livestock and wildlife by evaluating sets of factors that influence habitat suitability. In addition, contestants use basic math skills to determine whether a judging site scenario provides adequate livestock carrying capacity for the stated objective.
This publication was developed with extensive input from Agricultural Education teachers, range specialists, wildlife specialists, and others knowledgeable about range judging. To all of them we owe many thanks:
Craig Shryock, Colleen Johannson, Brian Boomgaarden, Brandy Knutson, Kathy Reeves, Bob Hodorf, Art Carter, Les Rice, Greg Shenbeck, Stacy Smith, Bobbi Ellis, Warren Jackson, Wayne VanderVorste, Dave Schmidt, Dave Steffen, Dave Ollila, Jerry Kobriger, Lee Manske, Kirby Keyser, Pat Johnson, Barb Berndt, and others.
Thank you to the contributors of the 2012 revision: Dr. Roger Gates, Cynthia Lanham, Etta Knuth, Mike Stirling, Jeff VanderWilt, Tate Lantz, Kyle Schell and others.
Thank you to the contributors of the 2022 revision: Dave Ollila, Ryan Beer, Mitch Faulkner, Jay Hermann, Rod Voss, Jenita Qualm, Lealand Schoon, Matt Hubers, Krecia Leddy, Stan Boltz, Ben Lardy, Lance Howe, and others.
