Illinois FFA Career Development Events

What Illinois FFA Career Development Events Are

Career development events, or CDEs, are contests built around a specific agricultural career. An Illinois FFA column describes them as competitions where students build knowledge and skills in one area of agriculture, and says the Illinois lineup is roughly 25 CDEs and LDEs combined (AgriNews FFA Corner). Leadership events, which cover speaking and meetings, are covered in a separate guide. The best way to know your chapter's list is to ask your advisor, because chapters pick which events to enter.

Events You Will See in Illinois

Events named in 2026 Illinois reports include:

• Livestock Evaluation (Illinois chapters also compete in invitational contests)
• Horticulture
• Horse Evaluation
• Poultry
• Meats Evaluation and Technology
• Veterinary Science
• Agricultural Education
• Ag Mechanics
• Agricultural Business Management and Marketing Plan
• Land Use, Food Science and Agricultural Sales

Some reports do not label each event as a career or leadership contest, so confirm the format with your advisor.

How Events Work

• Meats Evaluation and Technology: individuals place beef, pork or lamb carcasses and cuts, grade a beef carcass for quality and yield and identify retail cuts, and the team solves a ground meat formulation problem.
• Veterinary Science: anatomy, health and safety, clinical procedures and medical terminology, with two scenarios, equipment, parasite and breed identification, a written exam and a team presentation.
• Ag Mechanics: five areas, which are carpentry, power, welding, electricity and surveying. Each member competes in one area and all scores count toward the team, per the Gillespie FFA report.
• Horse Evaluation: ranking horses by breed characteristics, conformation and performance.
• Land Use: students evaluate sites for suitability by examining soil pits, landscape and slope, judge limits for agricultural use or home sites and recommend practices. See the Illinois Natural History Survey page.
• Poultry: egg grading, chicken class judging, carcass grading and a knowledge test.

Section to State

Illinois chapters are grouped into sections, and winners move on to state. Edwards County FFA's poultry team competed at the Section 23 Poultry CDE on February 17, 2026 at North Clay High School, then at the State Poultry CDE on March 7 at the University of Illinois, per WFIW. Section 19 held a Horticulture CDE on April 14 in Mt. Vernon, where students took a written exam, identified plants and ranked four plant classes, per Effingham Radio. Not every event has the same path, so ask how your event qualifies.

State Contests in 2026

AgriNews reports that the state livestock and horticulture CDEs were held at Illinois State University in Bloomington, drawing more than 580 livestock competitors and more than 230 horticulture participants. Ag mechanics, ag business management and marketing plan were part of a two-day stretch of May contests, when "Illinois FFA hosted three CDEs and two LDEs" (AgriNews). Fall state contests in 2025 included Land Use, Food Science, Agricultural Sales and Agricultural Education, hosted at Black Hawk College-East Campus, Joliet Junior College and Illinois State University, and Illinois earned 11 CDE and LDE plaques at the 98th National FFA Convention (AgriNews).

Invitationals and Practice

Chapters also use invitationals to prepare. South Central FFA reported the Lincoln Land livestock contest on April 9, 2026 in Taylorville, with 104 teams and 564 individuals, and a Lake Land horticulture invitational on April 8. Students also traveled to Murray State Field Day in Kentucky on April 15, which drew over 80 teams from multiple states.

Honors Along the Way

At the 98th Illinois FFA State Convention in Springfield, June 9 to 11, 2026, the Mount Vernon chapter recognized a state winner in Horse Evaluation (non-reasons), per Southern Illinois Now. More than 5,000 people attended the convention, per the County Chronicle.

Team and Individual Scoring

Most CDEs combine individual tasks with a team activity. In Meats, individuals place rings and identify cuts while the team solves a formulation problem. In Veterinary Science, a team presentation is part of the event. In the South Central FFA livestock results, one student placed 109th of 564 individuals while the team placed 50th of 104, which shows that both scores are tracked separately.

Choosing an Event

• Match the event to your project: livestock exhibitors fit Livestock, Meats and Poultry, while gardeners fit Horticulture and Land Use.
• Team events need a full roster, so tell your advisor early.
• If you like building, try Ag Mechanics; if you like science, try Veterinary Science.

Preparing

• Ask your advisor for past contest materials and national event handbooks.
• Visit local farms, packers and nurseries to see real examples.
• Enter an invitational to learn the format before sections.
• Check section and state dates early, since spring is crowded with contests.

Frequently Asked Questions

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