Blair 4-H Team Has 'Great Time' Grading Potatoes at Farm Show

The 2020 4-H Potato Grading and Identification Contest was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Jan. 7 with a record number of contestants.

One-hundred and thirty-nine 4-H members from across the state participated in this contest. Registration numbers increased by 40 percent from last year and included five new counties, one of which was Blair County.

4-H youth from Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Indiana, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northampton, Union and York counties all tested their knowledge of spuds.

The competitors utilized their potato-judging skills at three stations. The first station is a potato grading station. The station was a timed event where competitors challenged to see who could grade 100 potatoes in the shortest time.

The second station was a defect station where competitors had to accurately identify 20 different defects on 40 potatoes.

The third station was a plate-judging station. Five potatoes were put on each of four plates. Each plate had to be evaluated on uniformity of size and shape and lack of defects. The plates then had to be ranked in order. Two classes of plates had to be judged.

Blair county participants had a great time participating in the contest and are looking forward to being involved next year as well.

The 4-H Potato Judging contest teaches and enhances life skills such as decision making, working as a member of a team, and observation.

Enhancing the use of these skills helps prepare 4-H members for future careers and activities. The Blair team will begin meeting again in September to begin preparing for the 2021 contest. The contest is open to 4-H members ages 5-18.

For more information or to register a child, contact the Blair County Extension Office at 940-5989 to speak with the Blair County 4-H coordinator, Kristy Bigelow.