Kentucky FFA Career Development Events

How Kentucky FFA Career Development Events Work

Career development events, or CDEs, are contests where FFA members show practical agriculture skills: evaluating livestock, identifying seeds, welding or keeping records. Kentucky FFA runs them at the regional and state levels, with state fair contests in August and more at the state convention in June. The rules below come from the Kentucky FFA association pages, and details change each year, so check the current guidelines with your advisor.

The Event List

Kentucky FFA's CDEs and LDEs page lists 40 events for high school members, including:

• Agricultural Communications, Agricultural Mechanics, Agricultural Sales and Agronomy
• Dairy Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Meats Evaluation, Horse Evaluation and Poultry
• Farm and Agribusiness Management, Marketing Plan and Record Keeping
• Floriculture, Nursery, Forestry, Wildlife Management and Land Judging and Homesite Evaluation
• Food Science, Milk Quality and Products and Veterinary Science
• Seed Identification, Small Power Equipment, Tractor Driving, Welding and Auctioneering
• Envirothon and AIC (American Institute of Cooperatives)

The page does not label each event as a CDE or an LDE. Speaking, meeting and similar events are covered in the leadership guide.

Who Governs the Rules

Kentucky's events are run under rules adopted by the Kentucky Association of Agricultural Educators. National FFA guidelines are a reference only. The Rules Governing FFA Events set these general points:

• Active high school members must be enrolled in agricultural education, and membership expires each August 31.
• Regional and state FFA Day events and State Fair judging events are limited to members regularly enrolled in agricultural education classes.
• A school may enter only one team per event.
• Members who have previously won a state event may not compete in that event again, and most CDEs above the chapter level may be entered only once per member.
• Programmable calculators are not allowed, and phones must be off during competition, with disqualification the penalty.
• Teams that win state CDEs represent Kentucky at the matching National events at the National FFA Convention.

State Fair CDEs

The Kentucky State Fair hosts a large block of CDEs. The 2026 schedule in the FFA state fair catalog ran August 20 to 21 at the Kentucky Exposition Center:

• Thursday, August 20: Meats Evaluation, Dairy Holders, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Junior Dairy Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Junior Livestock Evaluation, Agronomy and Wildlife Management
• Friday, August 21: Seed Identification, Welding, Small Power Equipment, Agricultural Mechanics Skills, Floriculture, Nursery and General Auctioneering, with an awards program at 2:30 p.m.

Teams in Livestock, Dairy, Meats, Floriculture and Nursery have up to four members, and each school may enter one team per CDE. Seed Identification takes one 10th grader per chapter. Welding, Small Power Equipment and Agricultural Mechanics Skills allow one team per region, and the region must hold a regional CDE first. A member cannot compete in Welding or Agricultural Mechanics in the same year as Small Power Equipment, and students cannot enter CDEs held at overlapping times. Top prizes listed were $300 for most major CDEs, $150 for Welding and Small Power Equipment, and $500 for Seed Identification. Bring a clean clipboard and sharpened No. 2 pencils, and check each event's list for safety glasses, calculators or welding gear. Results are final once scoring is done.

State Convention CDEs

The 97th Kentucky FFA State Convention ran June 8 to 11, 2026, in Lexington, per the convention schedule. CDEs on the schedule included Food Science, Agricultural Communications, Milk Quality and Products, Record Keeping and Agricultural Sales. The advisor guide lists an April 1 registration deadline for Agricultural Communications, Farm Business Management, Food Science, Marketing Plan and Milk Quality and Products, and May 15 for Marketing Plan submissions. The guide's future convention dates are June 8 to 10, 2027, June 6 to 8, 2028, and June 5 to 7, 2029.

Fall Events

Kentucky FFA also lists State Horse Evaluation and Veterinary Science CDEs on November 20, 2026, and Middle School Career Development Events on November 19, 2026, at Hardin County Cooperative Extension, per the events page. In a past year's state event, Veterinary Science teams had exactly four members and Horse Evaluation teams three or four, with the top three scores counting, per the event notice.

How Teams Qualify

Teams and individuals should be chosen through local contests after classroom instruction. The state describes three chapter steps: submit a program of activities report to the regional contest, meet the standard chapter requirements in the Chapter Rating Process, and submit the Chapter Rating Form with paperwork to the state paperwork rating. A regional winner must compete at the state event to receive a state award. Advisors can request accommodations by sending the form to the Executive Secretary at least 21 days before the event.

Choosing and Preparing

• Pick events that match a class you are taking, since State Fair CDEs expect related coursework.
• Use the guidelines, score sheets and sample exams posted for each event, such as the released horse exam and livestock sample quizzes.
• Read the CDE Coaches Guide for tips from advisors.
• Count your team: some events allow partial teams and others do not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kentucky Listings Covered by This Guide

• Kentucky FFA Middle School Career Development Events at Hardin County
  Nov. 19, 2026 | Hardin County

  Middle school FFA career development contests hosted by the Hardin County Cooperative Extension office as part of the Kentucky FFA calendar. Held each year; the most recent date was November 19, 2026.

  KY | Organizer: Kentucky FFA Association Official event details

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