Rebel Roundup: By FFA Advisor Mr. Joe Biren
As we are halfway through March and FFA is in its final push for qualifying students for Career Development Events (CDE) to compete at the 97th Minnesota FFA State Convention April 19, 20, and 21, 2026, I felt it was a good time to talk about FFA. Minnesota held its Leadership Development Event (LDE) State Convention in December. Let's talk about the differences in these two areas. CDEs and LDEs are two different types of competitive events students participate in. They focus on different skill areas and provide competition for students to pursue excellence in.
FFA originated in 1928 with Career Development Events (CDE) being the main competition with Leadership Development Events (LDE) added later on. Career Development Events help students to focus on showing growth in the areas of technical skills related to agricultural fields. These contests focus on hands-on learning by developing skills related to agriculture careers. Many of these contests include practical skills, problem solving skills, and practical knowledge used by industry professionals. Some of the CDE categories that our local Murray County Central FFA members participate in every year include, General Livestock Evaluation, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Milk Quality, Meats Evaluation and Technology, Horse Evaluation, Forestry, Soils, Poultry Evaluation, Ag Mechanics, Farm Business Management, Floriculture, Nursery & Landscape, Fish & Wildlife, Agronomy, and Vet Science. These teams will consist of 5 FFA members competing individually for a combined team score against other FFA chapters. In General Livestock Evaluation, an example of a CDE, students will judge classes of animals, sire selection data, cull/keep scenarios, and give oral reasons based off of their answers.
Leadership Development Events (LDE) consist of building leadership skills, public speaking skills, and communication. Two years ago, Minnesota FFA moved to having a separate State Convention for our LDE to deal with the expansive number of participants at our State Convention in April. Murray County Central FFA has competed in both of the LDE State Conventions by qualifying teams to compete. Leadership Development Events focus on personal development and leadership. Oftentimes it involves giving speeches, presentations, or parliamentary procedure. Murray County Central has seen an increase in recent years in participation of LDEs. Some of the LDE that Murray County Central FFA participate in every year include Creed, Parliamentary Procedure, Code of Conduct, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Best Informed Greenhand. To give an example of one of the LDE - Creed Speaking - Students will memorize the FFA Creed and recite it to a panel of judges and answer questions based on their understanding of the creed.
Murray County Central FFA ranges from 85 to more than 100 members actively competing every year. Our local FFA program has seen much success with the support of our school, local communities, parents, students, and our Advisory Board. While the cost to join FFA at Murray County Central is a little bit higher than other activities due to $75 activity Fee + $15 for Regional, State and National FFA dues (Total $90) Let's talk about what is available to FFA members for that fee. The $75 dollars goes towards the family max of $350 that the school district has. The $15 dollars that is required by Region, State and National dues helps to lower costs for contests, provides a monthly magazine (FFA New Horizons), and makes members eligible for numerous scholarships. With the $75 dollar fee that the school district receives it goes towards helping offset the cost of the FFA Advisor, Substitute teacher pay - as most FFA contests have to take place during the school day, and transportation costs. Why do we chose to hold these contests during the school day? Due to many school’s sports schedules and other activities the contests taking place during the day allows the chance for all students to participate even if they have other commitments. Well rounded students that participate in multiple activities will provide a larger opportunity for career development. MCC FFA is responsible for registration costs, educational supplies for contests, overnight hotel costs, and some of the travel costs. These costs are paid for by the FFA members selling fruit for our fundraiser in the fall.
As we push closer to the April Minnesota State FFA Convention you will see many students investing their time early in the morning and late into the evening to practice for their contest. Murray County has always been a strong supporter of Agriculture and Murray County Central FFA is proud to be a small part of it. Go Murray County Central FFA!
Joe Biren