Arizona FFA Leadership Development Events

What Leadership Development Events Are

Leadership development events, or LDEs, are FFA contests in public speaking, meetings, interviews, communication and chapter management. They differ from career development events, which test technical agricultural skills. In Arizona, the state LDEs are held at the State Leadership Conference in Tucson. Arizona FFA has over 12,600 members, according to the state's 2026-2027 Fast Facts sheet, which lists the 2027 State Leadership Conference as June 10 to 12 in Tucson, with registration opening April 1 and closing May 10.

The Events

The 2025 State Leadership Conference listing named these LDEs and related contests:

• Prepared Public Speaking (novice and advanced)
• Extemporaneous Speaking (novice and advanced)
• Creed Speaking
• Parliamentary Procedure
• Conduct of Meetings
• Agricultural Communications
• Agricultural Issues
• Agricultural Education
• Agriscience
• Marketing Plan
• Chapter Display and Scrapbook
• Photography and Metal Art contests

The listing also mentions general sessions, hands-on workshops, a cornhole tournament and a day of community service. General sessions were at the University of Arizona's Centennial Hall, and LDEs and workshops at the Tucson Convention Center. The listing was garbled in places, with some events repeated, so confirm the current contest list with your advisor or the state office.

Dates and Deadlines

The 2025 event flyers show how the season fit together for the June 4 to 6, 2026 conference in Tucson:

• May 1: district-qualifying LDEs completed, and Honorary American FFA Degree nominations due.
• May 8: conference registration due, and the Prepared Public Speaking manuscript due.
• May 21: last day for online testing for the conference.
• March 16: Star State Greenhand applications due to the state office.

The 2027 Fast Facts sheet lists the State Leadership Conference as June 10 to 12, 2027, with registration April 1 and May 10 listed. Exact 2027 district and testing deadlines were not in the sources we read, so ask your advisor. The flyer did not list conference registration fees; the state office number on the Fast Facts sheet is 602-542-5564.

How to Qualify

The flyer says district-qualifying LDEs must be completed by May 1, which shows that members work through a district level before the state conference. We did not find a published list of cutoffs or the number of entries allowed per chapter, so ask your advisor which district contest your members should enter and how placings advance.

Choosing Your Event

Novice and advanced divisions in Prepared and Extemporaneous Public Speaking give newer speakers a place to start. Prepared Public Speaking requires a manuscript, due in early May in 2026, so start writing in the spring. Creed Speaking suits first-year members, since it asks them to learn and deliver the FFA Creed. Team events such as Parliamentary Procedure and Conduct of Meetings suit chapters that like practicing together. Members who like research can try Agricultural Issues or Marketing Plan, and members who like creating can try Chapter Display, Scrapbook, Photography or Metal Art.

Younger Members and Other Leadership Programs

• Summit Leadership Conferences each fall: Discover (5th to 8th grade) $20, Embark (9th) $35, Elevate (10th) $20, Ascend (11th) $20 per student. The 2026 series ran across Safford, Waddell, Yuma, San Tan Valley, Cottonwood, Tucson and Winslow, and a conference may be canceled if fewer than 120 students register.
• Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) in Mesa, listed for August 28 and 29, 2026 and May 7 and 8, 2027. One Star chapters get two free students and Basic chapters one; extra students are $50 without hotel or $75 with.
• Pinnacle Senior Conference January 22 and 23, 2027 at Peoria High School, $65 per student, covering life after high school, job interviewing, resumes, scholarship and state degree applications.
• State FFA Camp June 21 to 25, 2027 at Camp Shadow Pines in Heber, with applications opening in April 2027.

Practical Tips

• Ask your advisor for the district LDE date as soon as school starts.
• Rehearse speeches and meetings in front of people who will ask follow-up questions.
• Write the Prepared Public Speaking manuscript well before the early May due date.
• Take the online test before the last day, not on it.
• Volunteers can judge: Arizona FFA seeks LDE judges for the State Leadership Conference at azffa.org/volunteer-opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.