Cal Poly hosted the California State FFA Finals completion on Saturday, April 30, marking more than eight decades of the event being hosted on the university’s campus. The event brought in more than 2,000 students from across the state to the university, according to a university news release.
Participants competed in 22 events throughout the day in categories including Agronomy, Dairy cattle, Farm Business Management and Floriculture, among others.
The National FFA organization is a youth group of nearly 650,000 student members across the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The organization’s mission is to “make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education,” according to the FFA website.
“The State FFA Judging Finals is an amazing opportunity for each student and team to demonstrate their skills and be recognized for their outstanding accomplishments,” Agricultural Education and Communication Department Head Ben Swan said in the release.
The competition was judged by various Cal Poly faculty, staff and students; industry professionals; and community members. Final results were compiled on a website.
Cal Poly President Jeffery D. Armstrong and College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean Andrew Thulin were both set to speak at an awards ceremony in Cal Poly’s Mott Athletics Center. Winners of each event will continue on to represent California at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana in October.
“For many students, this competition marks the beginning or the end of their FFA careers,” Swan said in the release. “It is our goal to honor those teams and students who have worked hard all year and earned the title of state champion.”