Randall Mallette
County Agent
Natchitoches & Red River Parishes

Red River Parish 4-H took home first place in the State 4-H Forestry Contest held on October 16th at Jimmie Davis State Park. The team consisted of Alaina Boyd, Ben Moseley, and Morgan Moseley, all students at Riverdale Academy. The state forestry contest consists of tree identification, insect and disease identification, tree measuring, compass and pacing, topographic maps, and a written test.

In addition to winning as a team, Ben Moseley was the top scoring individual, with Morgan Moseley coming in second, and Alaina Boyd coming in 4th. Ben was also the top scorer in insect and disease identification. Alaina was the top individual in compass and pacing as well as the written test, and Morgan had the top score in topographic maps. Additionally, Ben was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for having the highest individual score of high school seniors.

These contestants will now start studying for the National 4-H Forestry Invitational contest which will be held in West Virginia in July. For this contest, they will have to learn new trees, insects, and diseases found across the nation, forest evaluation, and prepare for a quiz bowl event.