What Missouri FFA Career Development Events Are
Career development events (CDEs) are team contests that test skills taught in secondary agriculture classes. The Missouri FFA CDE guidelines say the events reward students for building those skills and assess their proficiency at the state level. Contests run at district or area level first, and certified teams then advance to the state CDEs held with the State FFA Convention in Columbia. Missouri FFA reported more than 25,626 members in 353 chapters for 2021-2022, per the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Contest List
The state CDE handbook page publishes a guideline for each of these CDEs:
- Agricultural Mechanics
- Agricultural Sales
- Agronomy
- Dairy Cattle
- Dairy Foods
- Entomology
- Farm Management
- Floriculture
- Food Science
- Forestry
- Horse
- Livestock
- Meats
- Nursery Landscape
- Poultry
- Soils
- MSU Ag Communications
Each has a written guideline and most have a scantron or reference list. Read the current guideline for your contest, because rules and study materials are revised from year to year.
Who Is Eligible
According to the 2025 guidelines:
- Students must be enrolled in secondary agriculture (grades 9 to 12) and be 21 or younger.
- They must be certified by their district, which requires taking part in the district CDE or LDE.
- A student may compete at state in a given event only once, and cannot compete at district or area in that event in later years.
- Only one team per school may enter each event, plus one alternate team per district per event.
- Most teams have three or four students, and the top three scores make the team score. Parliamentary Procedure and Agricultural Issues Forum are scored differently.
District and Area Contests
Missouri has no single qualifier. As an example, the 2026 Southwest District contests were held March 28, 30 and 31 on the Missouri State University campus in Springfield, per the district bulletin. Teams entered through judgingcard.com by March 13, with a $100 late fee per team from March 14 to 18. The grading fee was $115 per team. Results are posted unofficially online and become official at noon the day after each contest. Other districts set their own schedules, so ask your agriculture teacher.
State CDEs in Columbia
The 2026 State FFA Convention ran April 15 to 17 in Columbia, with the CDEs spread across the three days, per the state CDE schedule:
- Wednesday, April 15: Nursery/Landscape, Dairy Foods, Soils, Livestock and Agronomy.
- Thursday, April 16: Forestry, Agricultural Mechanics, Dairy Cattle, Food Science and Technology, Entomology, Horse Evaluation and Poultry.
- Friday, April 17: Agricultural Sales, Meats, Floriculture and Farm Management.
Venues included Mizzou Arena, the Trowbridge livestock facilities, Eckles Hall and the Stephens College Equestrian Center. The Food Science finals took eight teams. The convention dates listed by DESE for coming years are April 14 to 16, 2027 and April 19 to 21, 2028, per the Agricultural Education page.
Team Limits and the 4-H Connection
The 2025 guidelines cap the number of state teams in each CDE. Examples include Livestock 60, Agronomy 60, Dairy Cattle 60, Agricultural Mechanics 45, Forestry 44, Agricultural Sales 24 and Food Science 24. Team berths are set by district allocation tables based on prior-year participation. Under a memorandum of cooperation with 4-H, a student who wins a state contest in one organization may compete in the comparable state contest of the other the same year, as long as they belong to both. The 2025 State FFA Convention, the 97th, drew more than 8,000 members and guests to the Hearnes Center in Columbia on April 23 to 25, per Ozark Radio News.
Rules That Catch Teams Out
- Phones and smart devices, including smartwatches and fitness trackers, are prohibited, and a device that goes off means disqualification.
- Contestants may not bring notes or reference materials unless the event rules allow them.
- Non-graphing, non-programmable calculators are allowed.
- Advisors and alternates may not enter the holding room once the event begins, and advisors may not consult with teams during the event.
- Students may not compete in events scheduled at the same time.
- Ties are broken by the highest individual score, then the second-highest.
In the 2025 guidelines, certified team rosters were due April 14 at noon, accommodation requests are made on a form from the DESE Ag Education website, and appeals are due 5 p.m. the Tuesday after the convention closes. Rankings place roughly the top 25 percent of individuals in Group I, who receive gold medals. The first-, second- and third-place teams in each event receive plaques at the State FFA Convention.
Choosing and Preparing
- Pick the event that matches your classes and your SAE, then print the guideline and scantron.
- Check the reference lists that are updated each year, such as the Tool and Part ID list for Ag Mechanics and the reference list for Agronomy.
- Practice as a team under the same time limits, with no phones.
- Ask your teacher which superintendent runs your contest and when the district date falls.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is a CDE team?
Most CDE teams have three or four students, and the top three scores count.
Can I compete at state more than once in the same event?
No. A student may compete at state in a given event only once.
Where are the state CDEs held?
In Columbia, during the State FFA Convention.
Who do I ask about scoring problems?
The CDE guidelines name the State CDE Coordinator and State Tabulator as contacts for scoring discrepancies. Ask your teacher to use the contacts printed in the current guidelines.
Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.