The 2015 4-H Potato Grading and Identification Contest was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Jan. 13.

Forty-five 4-H members comprising 12 teams participated.Youths from Dauphin, Montgomery and Union counties participated for the first time.Returning counties included Bradford, Indiana, Lehigh and Northampton, whose 4-H members tested their knowledge of spuds.The contest is comprised of two divisions: basic and honors. Those who compete in the honors division are winners from previous years.The competitors in the basic division must test their skills at three stations. The first station, "potato grading," is a timed event where competitors challenge to see who can grade 100 potatoes in the shortest time.Not only is quickness important, but so is accuracy.In the second station, "defect station," competitors must accurately identify 20 different defects on 40 potatoes; and in the third station, "plate," five potatoes are put on each of four plates, which are evaluated on uniformity of size and shape and lack of defects.The plates must then be ranked in order, with two classes of plates being judged.In addition to the basic stations competition, youths in honors must complete three other stations.The fourth station is comprised of two more plate classes; the fifth station is estimating the weights of two large potatoes; and in the sixth station, the contestants must pick a Premium Pack.This means that out of 30 potatoes, the 10 most uniform and defect-free potatoes must be chosen.This contest teaches and enhances life skills such as decision making, defending your answer, quickness and observation.These skills are used for judging potatoes and are also used for judging livestock and other items in 4-H. Enhancing the use of these skills helps prepare 4-H members for future careers and activities.There were 33 4-H members in the basic division, an additional nine 4-H members in the honors division, and three Cloverbuds learning the program.The first place "A" team was from Northampton County.The second place "A" team was from Lehigh County. Team members included Bailey Vassallo, Tori Shiffert and Annika DeMaster.A Montgomery County team, known as "Tator Tots," took third place.The fourth place "A" team was the Dauphin County team. The fifth place "A" team was from Indiana County, and finishing sixth in the "A" competition was a team from Union County.In the "B" competition, first place went to a combined team, which included Nathaniel Burkit and Daniel Eyre, both from Northampton. Northampton County's "B" team placed second.Its members were Rebecca VanBlargan, Larry Eyer, Claire Smith and Andrew Zamadics. Third place in "B" went to the Lehigh County team of Jonas Geiger, Ashleigh Albert and Amber Schiffert.The top nine individual awards presented included: first, Alicia Huber of Northampton; fifth, Larry Eyre of Northampton; tied for eighth, Ashleigh Albert of Lehigh and Jessica Pierce of Montgomery; and ninth, Tori Schiffert of Lehigh.In the honors division, Olivia Geiger of Lehigh placed first; Lillie Geiger of Lehigh placed second; Gary Yagerhofer of Northampton placed third; Brandon Selig of Lehigh placed fourth; Matthew Eyer of Northampton placed fifth; Grace Royer of Lehigh placed sixth; Ian Royer of Lehigh placed seventh; Danielle Ford of Northampton was eighth; and Maggie Durkin of Lehigh was ninth.All counties in Pennsylvania are encouraged to form a potato judging team for next year. Training materials are available, and groups are welcome to attend for a trial.Horticulture Educators, Master Gardeners, local gardeners, and potato producers are all good resources for volunteer leaders.For more information, contact Kelly Weisner,

kmb@psu.edu.