Arkansas FFA Career Development Events

What Arkansas FFA Career Development Events Are

Career development events, or CDEs, are contests that test the technical knowledge and teamwork of a specific agricultural career. The Arkansas FFA Association, chartered in 1928, lists them on its CDE page. A February 2025 National FFA article said members compete individually or on a team with others from their chapter, mostly in the spring semester, and that chapters across the state host practice contests before state.

The Event List

The Arkansas FFA CDE page lists these events with its own short descriptions:

• Ag Communications (four-person team: journalism, broadcast, web design, marketing), Ag Mechanics, Agriscience Fair, Agronomy
• Arkansas Shooting Sports Contest, Auctioneering, Electricity, Farm Business Management
• Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Horse Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Meats Evaluation and Technology, Milk Quality and Products, Poultry Evaluation, Veterinary Science
• Floriculture, Food Science and Technology, Nursery and Landscape, Turf Management
• Forestry, Land Judging, Wildlife Management
• Job Interview

The 2025 National FFA article put the number at 19 CDEs, so the list has changed in recent years. Check the page for the current season.

Contest Dates 2026-2027

The CDE page posts district and state dates:

• Eastern District: March 2 at ASU Jonesboro
• Southern District: March 9 at SAU
• Northwest District: March 11 at ATU
• State Contest: April 1 to 2 at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
• State Forestry: April 9, Eastern District

The page does not give dates or locations for individual events. Your advisor will have the schedule for each one. State award-winning teams are recognized in late April at the Arkansas FFA State Convention and Expo, per National FFA.

District Then State

Arkansas has three FFA districts for these contests: Eastern, Southern and Northwest. The page lists a district chair for each on the state CDE/LDE committee. It does not spell out the qualifying rules, so ask your advisor and read the Arkansas FFA CDE/LDE Policies and Procedures document, which the page links.

What Some Events Test

• Livestock Evaluation: classifying livestock as keep or cull.
• Meats Evaluation and Technology: beef carcass grading and meat cut identification.
• Land Judging: soil properties, conservation practices and land capability classes.
• Electricity: wiring, wire sizing, circuit protection and electrical safety.
• Forestry: forest disorder diagnosis, forest management, inventory and silviculture.
• Auctioneering: judged on communication, chant, professionalism and audience engagement.
• Wildlife Management: habitat, conservation, hunting laws and safety.

More Event Descriptions

The same page describes the rest of the contests. Use these to see which one fits you:

• Ag Mechanics: technical skills and teamwork in solving complex problems.
• Agriscience Fair: competition on the science and technology of agriculture.
• Agronomy: knowledge of seeds, insects, soils and crops, and crop production problem solving.
• Arkansas Shooting Sports Contest: safe shooting sports participation and natural resources career preparation.
• Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Milk Quality and Products: dairy cattle management and evaluation, and milk and dairy production, processing, distribution and marketing.
• Farm Business Management: business management and economic principles in agriculture.
• Floriculture: plant identification, flower arranging and floral product preparation.
• Food Science and Technology: food product development, presentation and food safety.
• Horse Evaluation: evaluating and ranking horses, with team problem solving.
• Nursery and Landscape: landscape plant maintenance, equipment and landscape design.
• Poultry Evaluation: production, processing and marketing of poultry and eggs.
• Turf Management: turfgrass use and maintenance for lawn, golf and sports, plus equipment.
• Veterinary Science: technical knowledge and practical skills in veterinary science.
• Job Interview: practicing and demonstrating job-seeking skills for agricultural employment.

Contest Materials Online

Individual event pages on arkansasffa.org host the study materials. The Floriculture page, for example, lists the CDE packet, plant and equipment ID, floral arrangement and mixed pot placing classes, problem solving, plant disorders and an exam. Other events, such as Forestry, Livestock and Nursery and Landscape, have their own pages on the same site. The page also links a sweepstakes formula document for the Southern District and videos from 2025 district town hall meetings.

Choosing an Event

• Match the event to your project: show animals suit Livestock, Dairy or Horse Evaluation, and a garden or greenhouse suits Floriculture, Agronomy or Nursery and Landscape.
• Check which events your chapter already enters. Team events need a full roster, and Ag Communications is a four-person team.
• Consider Job Interview, Auctioneering or Agriscience Fair if you prefer individual work.

Preparing

• Get the contest packets from your advisor. The Arkansas FFA site hosts materials for events such as Floriculture, with plant ID, problem solving, placing classes and an exam.
• Join practice contests. In February 2025, North Arkansas advisors held a mock competition at North Arkansas College, with each advisor focused on one CDE.
• Visit local farms, nurseries, forests and processors to see real examples.
• Plan travel early, because the district contests fall in March and the state contest in early April.

Frequently Asked Questions

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