What a Career Development Event Is
Career Development Events, or CDEs, are FFA competitions that connect classroom agriculture lessons to real-life work. Kansas FFA says CDEs and their leadership cousins, LDEs, build on what students learn in agricultural classes and the FFA, and that FFA has run them since 1928. Most CDEs are team contests where students judge, identify, diagnose or analyze, then get scored. A few are individual or presentation based.
How the Path Works: Chapter, District, State
Kansas FFA's own CDE page does not lay out a single chapter-to-district-to-state ladder for every contest, so the path depends on the event. What the published pages show:
- Chapter. Your ag teacher decides which teams to enter and organizes practices. Many chapters also enter invitational contests such as Aggie Day at Fort Scott Community College, which in 2026 was held March 27 with contests in entomology, farm management, floriculture, food science, livestock, meat evaluation, milk quality and products, nursery and landscape, poultry, veterinary science and speech. Aggie Day registered teams through JudgingCard.com, teams had four contestants with the top three scores counting, and livestock divisions were set by grade level.
- District. Kansas has seven FFA districts. Each holds a District Leadership School, but those cover leadership events (parliamentary procedure, conduct of chapter meetings and a leadership information test) rather than CDEs.
- Some CDEs have their own route. The Forestry CDE runs through the Kansas Envirothon, with area and district competitions first and a statewide competition each spring. The top FFA team in the Envirothon forestry scores becomes the State Forestry CDE winner.
- State. State CDEs are held each spring, and winners can move on to national events.
Ask your advisor how your chapter qualifies for each state event. The Kansas FFA Association can be reached at (785) 532-6424.
State CDE Dates
Kansas FFA lists these dates:
- 2026: State CDEs, May 3-5.
- 2027: State CDEs, May 2-4.
Some events happen elsewhere. The Farm Equipment CDE, for example, was listed for Friday, February 21, 2025, at the American Royal Complex in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Kansas FFA CDE List
The Kansas FFA events page lists these 20 CDEs:
- Agricultural Communications
- Agricultural Sales
- Agricultural Technology and Mechanics
- Agronomy
- Dairy Cattle Evaluation
- Entomology
- Environmental and Natural Resource
- Farm and Agribusiness Management
- Floriculture
- Food Science and Technology
- Forestry
- Horse Evaluation
- Land and Homesite Evaluation
- Livestock Evaluation
- Marketing Plan
- Meats Evaluation and Technology
- Milk Quality and Products
- Nursery/Landscape
- Poultry Evaluation
- Veterinary Science
Each has its own page on ksffa.org with guidelines, resources and past winners.
Eligibility and Team Size
Rules vary by event, so read the guidelines for the one you want. Examples from published pages:
- Forestry. Teams have 5 members, and all 5 must be registered FFA members before the competition. A team is not eligible for the National FFA CDE if any member competed in that national event the prior year.
- Aggie Day. Teams have four contestants, and the top three scores count. Contestants may enter more than one area unless times conflict, but livestock students cannot compete in other events.
- Sweepstakes. Per the CDE sweepstakes guidelines, events count toward the award if they are put on by Kansas State University and involve at least three individuals, and each chapter may select up to five of its best-placing teams. Teams earn 5 points each, with bonus points for gold (20), silver (10) or bronze (5) divisions, and the top five teams overall receive plaques.
Advancing Beyond State
Using Livestock Evaluation as an example, the Kansas page says the first-place team represents Kansas FFA at the national CDE at the National FFA Convention and Expo. The second-place team, or a designated alternate, may represent Kansas at the American Royal in Kansas City, and the third-place team may represent Kansas at the Western National Roundup in Denver. Students in that event work in teams to rank breeding and market classes of beef, sheep and swine and give reasons for their placings.
Tips for Members and Parents
- Pick one or two events and go deep. The list is long, and Aggie Day-style contests limit some combinations.
- Practice with past material. Event pages link to guidelines and resources, and invitational contests are good rehearsals.
- Watch registration. Aggie Day, for instance, closed pre-registration on March 20 and charged double the entry fee for late registration.
- Book lodging early. Kansas FFA posts room block information for state events at ksffa.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a CDE and an LDE?
CDEs test career skills such as judging livestock or analyzing a farm business. LDEs, such as Creed Speaking and Prepared Public Speaking, focus on leadership and communication. Kansas lists 20 CDEs and 13 LDEs.
Does every student compete as part of a team?
No. Several CDEs are team events, such as Agricultural Sales and Livestock Evaluation, while some events are individual.
Where do I find the rules for one event?
Open that event's page on ksffa.org and check the linked guidelines, or call the Kansas FFA Association at (785) 532-6424.
Kansas Listings Covered by This Guide
- K-State Career Development Events (Kansas FFA State CDEs)
Kansas FFA state Career Development Events are scheduled for May 2-4, 2027 in Manhattan. Chapters compete in judging, evaluation and skills contests; the 2026 round was held May 3-5.
Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.