California FFA Career Development Events

What California FFA Career Development Events Are

Career development events, or CDEs, are contests that test the skills of an agricultural career, usually as a team: judging, evaluating, mechanics, sales and business. California FFA runs a large slate. A published list of 2024 state winners names 48 state contests. This guide covers the CDE side. Speaking and meeting events are in the companion leadership guide, and the California Agricultural Teachers' Association (CATA) Curricular Activities Code is the authority on rules.

Contests Named in California Results

The 2024 state winners list includes:

• Animals: Dairy Cattle Judging, Livestock Evaluation, Meat Judging, Light Horse Evaluation, Poultry Judging, Veterinary Science, Milk Quality and Dairy Foods
• Plants and land: Agronomy, Citrus Judging, Cotton Judging, Floriculture, Forestry, Fruit Tree Judging, Fruit Tree Pruning, Grapevine Judging, Grapevine Pruning, Ornamental Horticulture, Vegetable Crops, Soils and Land Judging, Agricultural Pest Control, Natural Resources/Environmental Science
• Mechanics: Agricultural Mechanics, Agricultural Mechanics Fair, Agricultural Welding, Farm Power and Machinery, Small Engines
• Business and issues: Agricultural Sales, Agricultural Issues, Agricultural Communications, Cooperative Marketing, Farm Business Management, Marketing Plan, California Water Issues, AET Record Book, Best Informed Greenhand
• Agriscience Fair in Discover, Novice and Advance divisions

Ask your advisor for the current lineup, since events change and each year's list is posted separately.

Where and When

State finals are spread across campuses and dates. The Code's 2025 schedule puts most events at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on May 3, 2025, including Agricultural Mechanics, Agronomy, Dairy Cattle Judging and Agricultural Issues. Citrus Judging was at Fresno State on February 1, Agricultural Pest Control at Fresno State on April 12, Agricultural Sales at Reedley College on March 29, and Agricultural Welding at Merced College on April 25 and 26. Fresno State's FFA field day site says the campus hosts three field days a year with 27 contests in total and lists a Cotton Judging State Final on November 1, 2025, Mid-Winter FFA State Finals on February 7, 2026 and the FFA State Finals and Field Day on April 18, 2026. Chapter advisors register teams there through judgingcard.com.

Some events require qualifying at approved sites first. For Agricultural Mechanics, only the top 24 teams, ranked by a weighted score across qualifying contests, compete at the state final. A local report from Modesto Junior College described a field day where students competed against schools statewide in Veterinary Science, Vegetable Crop Judging, Agricultural Mechanics, Best Informed Greenhand and Livestock Judging.

Who Can Compete

Per the 2024-2025 Curricular Activities Code:

• Entrants must be official FFA members regularly enrolled in an agricultural education class in high school or middle/junior high, with the equivalent of a year of ag coursework in the current year.
• Only one team per school may enter each state finals CDE.
• Students on a state champion team, or who represented California nationally, in the same event type are ineligible.
• CDE, Agriscience and Ag Mechanics Fair entries need a zipped official jacket, white collared shirt and official tie or scarf, or the member is ineligible for awards.
• An event with fewer than five teams is placed on probation, and discontinued if it stays below five.

Recent Results

The 2024 list shows how widely wins spread: Hilmar in Dairy Cattle Judging, Escalon in Agronomy, Elk Grove in Farm Business Management and Milk Quality, Atascadero in Livestock Evaluation, Lakeside-El Capitan in Meat Judging, Bakersfield-Mira Monte in Agricultural Mechanics and Hayfork in Forestry. At the 97th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, per California's national results, Ripon-Ripon Christian was national winner in Floriculture, and California teams earned gold placings such as Hilmar third in Dairy Cattle, Reedley Middle College third in Environmental Sciences and Merced-El Capitan second in Marketing Plan.

Reaching Nationals

Only events on the national list send teams. The Code shows national team sizes such as 4 for Agricultural Sales, Agricultural Mechanics, Agronomy and Dairy Cattle Judging. The 2024 winners list tags events such as Dairy Cattle Judging, Milk Quality, Farm Business Management and Marketing Plan as national contests, while others like Cotton Judging, Grapevine Pruning and Small Engines are state-only.

Choosing a Contest

• Animal-minded: Dairy, Livestock, Meats, Horse, Poultry, Veterinary Science.
• Plants, land and water: Agronomy, Citrus, Floriculture, Forestry, Soils, Vegetable Crops, California Water Issues.
• Hands-on and technical: Ag Mechanics, Welding, Small Engines.
• Business: Ag Sales, Farm Business Management, Marketing Plan, Cooperative Marketing.

Preparing

• Get the current Code and event handbook from your advisor.
• Practice on real material. Dairies, orchards, packing sheds and shops near your school are natural practice sites.
• Form your team early, since team scores matter and individual placings count too.
• Register early. Fresno State notes fees are non-refundable once early registration closes.
• Plan travel, since finals can be in Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Reedley or Merced.

Frequently Asked Questions

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