‘Spud stud’ or ‘dud?’ Lebanon Co. 4-H team wins first place at Pa. Farm Show

Members of the Lebanon County 4-H Potato Judging Team sure do know their spuds. 

Seven years after the team was relaunched in 2020, the A Team took home first-place honors while the B Team captured fourth place in Tuesday’s potato judging competition at the 110th Pennsylvania Farm Show.

When the Team A results were revealed on video screens placed around the Keystone Conference Center, Lebanon County’s nine program members screamed with delight and high-fived each other, along with their parents and adult leaders, in jubilation after seeing they had won first place. 

“This is a great way to end my potato judging career,” said 18-year-old Anna Houser of Myerstown, who ages out of the 4-H program this year. “I am so excited for our team and that we won first place.”

4-H adult leader Michelle Seibert, who runs the program, was obviously elated with her team’s placement and their efforts the past year leading up to the PA Farm Show.

“So far we’ve gotten fourth and third … We’ve just been trying to beat certain counties because they’re very good,” Seibert said. “But we’ve also told them that they should feel honored because they’re very good. We just want to do that. So we’ve been just practicing hard and trying different techniques.”

In the individual judging competition, Amy Moyer and Everett Sanders, both of Annville, placed first and seventh, respectively, in the A Team judging while Gable Monk of Jonestown finished 10th in the B Team judging division.

“I am very happy,” Moyer said when asked for reaction to finishing first individually in the highly competitive event that featured 14 teams from across Pennsylvania in the A bracket. “I got fourth place the first year I did it, but didn’t get a ribbon and I was really disappointed.”

Moyer, a four-year veteran of potato judging, didn’t let past disappointments get her down. Instead, she used it as motivation to improve her judging skills.

“Then I kept doing it and last year, I didn’t place at all and my brother did. But this year, I really put in a lot of time into it, went over things at home, looked back on things, and really improved on my 100 (judging program), and it made me feel really good,” Moyer said. “I was very surprised (to have won).” 

Sanders, 10, is in his third year of judging and was surprised by the A Team’s top finish. 

“I was surprised because we’ve never had that before,” he said. “I like doing this because you get to go around here (at the PA Farm Show) and have fun. It’s fun looking at and judging the potatoes. This year, we were really going through the 100 so quickly.”

Spud stud or spud dud?

For those who are new to potato judging, an explanation of the process is in order. 

In trying to understand and simplify the process, LebTown asked if judging is as simple as deciding whether a sample is a “spud stud,” meaning a good potato, or a “spud dud,” failing to meet the quality standard. 

That’s actually what the judging categories entail, according to Seibert. 

“There’s two different parts of the contest. One is a timed event and one is not timed. So when they’re looking at the (20) defects, they can take as much time as they need to look at the (40) potatoes on that table,” Seibert explained “So there’s a table of 100 potatoes and that part is timed and they have to quickly decide if those potatoes are marketable or not marketable. They have to decide if they’re USDA Grade 1 marketable white potatoes.”

Those potatoes are defined as a “high-quality standard for fresh potatoes, meaning they are firm, fairly clean, well-shaped, and free from serious defects like soft rot, blackheart, freezing, and blight, typically with a minimum size of 1-7/8 inches in diameter, making them ideal for general consumer use, unlike lower grades often used for processing like fries.” 

Seibert noted there’s a whole lot more to potato judging than deciding whether or not a potato is a “spud stud” or has too many defects.

“I think the kids enjoy it because it is something different, but we also try to have fun while we’re doing it,” Seibert said. “They’ll be at home peeling potatoes for their family meal and they’ll be like, ‘Hey, look, I know what that defect is,’ or they start judging potatoes in the store ’cause they realize, ‘Hey, this is actually a defect, and it’s fine to still eat the potato because it’s just something that’s on the surface.’” 

Seibert noted it had been about 30 years since Lebanon County had a team when the new one was formed in 2020. The leaders emphasize education in a fun environment.

“I think we make it fun and quirky. I think we try to have fun when we practice, but the biggest thing is helping to develop critical thinking and quick decision making skills,” Seibert said. 

The fun part is evident, especially in the team’s T-shirts, which read on the back, “Spud Squad” and “Warning – May Spontaneously Talk about Potatoes.” The shirt also contains a potato with a human face, the year 2026 and Diffenbach’s, the Lebanon County-based snack company that sponsors the team’s red shirts.

Although Houser does not live on a farm, she said it was her mother, a prior 4-H member herself, who encouraged her to join the local program. 

“My mom said it is something to do and it will teach you some new skills,” Houser, an inaugural team member, said. “Michelle and I are distantly related and through that connection that’s how we heard about it. My mom said, ‘Maybe you should try it. It sounds like something that is very interesting.’”

The concept of potato judging was new to Houser when she learned about the program and, seven years later, it’s still one that’s not on most people’s radar.

“Not many people can say they are a potato judger,” she said. “There’s an appeal there, and having something that’s like a party trick and being able to say, ‘Hey, here’s something that’s a cool fact, something that’s interesting.’”

Houser, who is contemplating an ag communications career, said there are various skills she’s learned as a potato judge participant that will continue to benefit her no matter what career path she eventually takes.

“I just think it gives kids a different outlet to have those hands-on experiences in competition,” she said. “Being in 4-H and in this competition, gives us the experience of being a judge and having the willingness to compete. Every year they always tell us that this competition can open you up to so many jobs.”

Houser noted that product testers, food scientists, and ag product marketing are but a few of the many career opportunities available to 4-H members who have had potato judging experience.

“There’s so many things that I think this contest entails that people don’t think about it until you really sit there and think, ‘Oh my goodness, these different skills that we have really have set us up,’” she said. “For me, this contest really brings together people in the ag industry without really having those ties. We have people who have animals but those who grew up in a development and not on a farm. So this is something that, overall, is being a part of something that’s bigger than themselves and brings together people to achieve a common goal.”

Seibert echoed the sentiment. “There’s nothing like having potato judger on your resume,” she said.

For Rayce Morgan of Lebanon, who will also age out of 4-H this year, he’s enjoyed both the competitive and fun sides of the program.

“I’m gonna be honest, I think it’s really funny. Like someone says, ‘What are your hobbies?’ ‘Oh, yeah. I collect swords. I play Dungeons & Dragons and I judge potatoes.’ But then I got into it and it’s competitive. And I don’t do very many competitive things, so this is a fun and sort of friendly competition.”

As winner of this year’s A Team division, the team members received a coupon for free potato donuts at the Farm Show, an invite to the Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers’ annual convention later this month in Hershey, and an invite to compete at next year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show in the honors division, the highest level of competition at the agricultural extravaganza.