Arkansas FFA Leadership Development Events

What Arkansas FFA Leadership Development Events Are

Leadership development events, or LDEs, are FFA contests built around speaking, meetings and interviewing instead of technical skills. The Arkansas FFA Association lists them on its LDE page, alongside the career development events.

The Event List

• Conduct of Chapter Meetings: teaches parliamentary procedure, efficient meeting conduct and communication skills.
• Creed Speaking: members recite the FFA Creed from memory and answer questions. Open to 7th, 8th and 9th graders.
• Extemporaneous Public Speaking: 30 minutes to prepare a 4- to 6-minute speech on an agricultural issue, then 5 minutes of questions.
• FFA Knowledge: tests FFA history and basic parliamentary procedure. Open to grades 7 to 9 who are enrolled in an agricultural education course and are paid members of a chartered chapter.
• High School Discussion Meet: a simulated committee meeting where participants discuss agricultural issues and work toward consensus.
• Job Interview: members practice and demonstrate skills for seeking agricultural industry jobs.
• Parliamentary Procedure: teams conduct a mock chapter meeting to demonstrate parliamentary law.
• Prepared Public Speaking: write and deliver a 6- to 8-minute speech on a current agriculture-related topic.

Contest Dates and Locations

The Arkansas FFA page's 2025-2026 schedule listed:

• Eastern District: January 16 at ASU Jonesboro
• Southern District: January 16 at SAU Magnolia
• Northwest District: January 26 at Pleasant View High School, Mulberry
• State: April 20 at the 99th Arkansas FFA State Convention and Expo

Look for the next season's schedule on the page, since dates move from year to year. The page does not list entry deadlines, fees, team sizes or scoring, and the Arkansas FFA CDE/LDE Policies and Procedures document it links is the place to look.

The State Convention

The state finals are held at the Arkansas FFA State Convention and Expo. When the 97th convention met in Hot Springs in 2024, about 3,000 people attended over three days, with roughly 180 of Arkansas's 212 schools with agricultural education programs represented, per The Sentinel-Record. It had keynote speakers, workshops, a talent competition and about 65 expo booths.

A Local Warm-Up Example

Some areas hold their own contests before district. On December 1, 2025, more than 100 FFA members from eight chapters competed at the Pine Tree Subarea LDEs at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, per the Division of Agriculture. Events included Creed Speaking, Prepared and Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Discussion Meet, Job Interview, Conduct of Chapter Meeting and Parliamentary Procedure. UAM faculty and staff judged on content, presentation, teamwork and leadership ability. The contests were described as preparation for district and state competition.

Judging and What Judges Look For

At the Pine Tree Subarea contest above, entries were judged on content, presentation, teamwork and leadership ability. Treat those four as your checklist in any speaking or meeting event. Say something worth hearing, deliver it clearly, work with your teammates and show that you can lead a room.

Meeting Events in Detail

Three events center on the business of a meeting. Conduct of Chapter Meetings teaches parliamentary procedure, efficient meeting conduct and communication skills. Parliamentary Procedure puts a team through a mock chapter meeting to demonstrate parliamentary law. FFA Knowledge covers FFA history and basic parliamentary procedure for grades 7 to 9. If your chapter runs its own meetings with the official motions, you already have practice for all three.

Speaking Events in Detail

Creed Speaking asks for the FFA Creed from memory and then questions. Prepared Public Speaking is the longest, at 6 to 8 minutes on a current agriculture-related topic. Extemporaneous Public Speaking gives you 30 minutes to prepare 4 to 6 minutes on an agricultural issue, followed by 5 minutes of questions. High School Discussion Meet is a simulated committee meeting where participants discuss agricultural issues and work toward consensus. Job Interview lets members practice the skills for seeking agricultural industry jobs.

Choosing an Event

• New 7th through 9th graders can start with Creed Speaking or FFA Knowledge.
• If you like writing, try Prepared Public Speaking. If you like thinking on your feet, try Extemporaneous.
• Team players can try Parliamentary Procedure or Conduct of Chapter Meetings.
• Juniors and seniors thinking about work can try Job Interview.

Preparing

• Practice out loud with a timer, since the speech lengths above are strict ranges.
• Read agricultural news weekly so Extemporaneous and Discussion Meet topics feel familiar.
• For team events, rehearse together as often as you can.
• Ask your advisor for the official rules and score sheets before you start.

Frequently Asked Questions

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