Cashmere FFA crowned state apple judging champions

CASHMERE  — The Cashmere FFA team earned top honors at the State FFA Apple Judging Contest in Yakima, with first and third place team finishes and landed four individuals in the top ten. 

Gloria Smith was the individual State Champion and won the $1,000 scholarship sponsored by the Apple Education Foundation. 

This success follows an equally impressive performance at the district level, where Cashmere FFA teams finished first, second, and fourth, with eight students landing individual top-ten spots.

For both competitions, contestants had to identify fruit varieties from a list of 14 apples and pears in addition to common fruit blemishes such as codling moth, indenture, leaf roller or scale to name a few, Cashmere FFA Advisor Rusty Finch said.

Students also had to be familiar with sections of the Private Applicators Manual, calculate projected harvest dates and identify almost 30 different insects and mites that impact the fruit industry. 

Contestants had to determine the internal pressure of an apple as it relates to storage and shipping. There were 36 teams and over 160 members that competed at the state event in Yakima.