How South Carolina FFA Career Development Events Work
Career development events, or CDEs, are contests where FFA members show practical agriculture skills: judging livestock, identifying plants and tools, sampling soil, driving a tractor or running a farm business. South Carolina FFA is part of South Carolina Agricultural Education at Clemson University Cooperative Extension, and its events run in a season that starts in September at the regional level and ends at the state convention in Greenville each June. The details below come from the SC FFA pages at Clemson, and dates and sites shift from year to year, so confirm with your advisor before you load the van.
The 2026-27 Event Calendar
The SC FFA Dates and Locations page lists the current season. The fall block is mostly hands-on:
- Tractor Safety and Operations: regional contests on September 15 (Lee County CTC), September 29 (Crescent), October 1 (Piedmont Tech, Greenwood) and October 7 (Orangeburg County Fair), then the state contest on October 15 at the SC State Fairgrounds in Columbia.
- Soils Evaluation: regional contests on October 5 (Darlington County) and October 12 (Oconee County), then the state contest on December 10 in Chester County.
- Veterinary Science: November 6 at Piedmont Tech in Newberry.
- Wildlife: November 7 at the State Shooting Complex in Eastover.
- John Deere Gator Wars: regional contests November 17 to 19 at various locations.
- Agronomy and Turfgrass: November 20 at Piedmont Tech in Greenwood.
Winter and spring bring the plant, dairy and livestock events:
- Tool Identification and Floriculture: regional contests in February, then state Floriculture and Nursery/Landscape on March 13 at Spartanburg Community College.
- Milk Quality and Products and Tool ID: March 18 at the SC School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg.
- Dairy Evaluation: March 25 at the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Clemson.
- Livestock Evaluation: April 2 at the Garrison Arena.
- Horse Evaluation: April 16 in the Upstate.
- Forestry: May 1 at Harbison State Forest in Columbia.
- Auctioneering: semifinals February 22 in Columbia, with the state contest at convention.
The same page lists State Agricultural Mechanics, Poultry Evaluation and Meats Evaluation on April 10 at Clemson, the State Envirothon on April 16 at the Sandhill REC, and State WHEP on April 23 at the Webb Wildlife Center, but it does not label those as CDEs. Ask your advisor how they count toward your chapter's plans.
Convention CDEs in Greenville
The state convention is held at the Greenville Convention Center. The convention page shows the 2026 convention ran June 16 to 18. Convention-day CDEs included Agricultural Communications, Agricultural Education, Farm Business Management and the Greenhand Knowledge Bowl on the first day. The calendar lists State Auctioneering and State John Deere Gator Wars among the convention events. The SC Agricultural Education calendar puts the next convention at June 15 to 17, 2027. Full registration was $50 per person in 2026, and daily registration was $15, with no meals provided.
Who Can Compete
The general rules and procedures set the basics:
- Students must be dues-paying FFA members enrolled in an agricultural education class and entered in the online roster by the deadline.
- A student who has been a state winner in a CDE may not compete in that area again.
- Members of a state-winning CDE team may not join another state CDE team that school year, with exceptions for events not recognized by National FFA.
- A student who attended National Convention as a CDE participant may not compete in the state event again.
- Events are open to all grade levels unless the event rules say otherwise.
- Dues-paying seventh and eighth graders in middle school chapters may take part, and the top middle school team is recognized at each event. The advisor handbook says Tractor Operation and Safety and Ag Mechanics are not open to middle school members.
Teams, Scoring and Registration
- Teams have four members unless the event says otherwise, and team scores normally count the top three individual scores.
- Registration is due one week before the contest unless noted. Teams that miss the deadline may not be allowed to compete, and a confirmation email goes out the day after the deadline.
- For events with a regional qualifier, one substitution is allowed for the state event. Tell the event superintendent as soon as you can.
- Alternates may attend, but their participation is not guaranteed, and they may not compete at state Tractor, Soils, Ag Mechanics or Wildlife.
- Pants and closed-toe shoes are required for livestock, horse and dairy judging, dairy handler, tractor driving, meats and soils.
- Unauthorized electronic devices and outside study materials can lead to disqualification.
Reaching the National Level
South Carolina's state winners represent the state at the matching National FFA event during National Convention. According to the advisor handbook, state winning teams and individuals receive a stipend to ease the cost, and if they cannot go, they forfeit it and the second-place entry goes in their place. A student who wins both a team and an individual event has to choose which to take to nationals before August.
Preparing
- Pick events that match a class you are taking, then practice with the posted scantron sheets so the answer card is no surprise.
- Check each event's guidelines for items you must bring, such as clipboards or calculators.
- Advisors can find coaching resources on the CDE page at scaged.org.
- Need an accommodation? The current SC FFA Accommodation Form is linked on the CDE page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the state convention?
The 2026 convention ran June 16 to 18 in Greenville, and the 2026-27 calendar lists June 15 to 17, 2027.
Can I compete in the same state event twice?
No. A student who has been a state winner in an event may not compete in that area again.
How late can my team register?
Registration closes one week before the contest unless the event says otherwise.
Where do I write with questions?
SC FFA Association, P.O. Box 1746, Clemson, SC 29633, or ask your agricultural education teacher.
South Carolina Listings Covered by This Guide
- SC FFA Agronomy and Turf CDE
The state FFA Agronomy and Turf Career Development Event is scheduled for Nov. 20, 2026 at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, testing crop and turfgrass knowledge.
Greenwood, SC | Organizer: SC FFA Association Official event details - State FFA Agronomy and Turfgrass CDE
State FFA agronomy and turfgrass career development events on November 20, 2026, at the Piedmont Tech campus in Greenwood.
Greenwood, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - FFA Auctioneers CDE Semifinals
Semifinal round of the state FFA auctioneering contest in Columbia on February 22, 2027, with finalists moving on to the June state convention.
Columbia, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - SC FFA Nursery Landscape and Floriculture CDE
State finals for FFA teams in nursery, landscape and floriculture skills, scheduled for March 13, 2027 on the Spartanburg Community College campus.
- State FFA Nursery Landscape and Floriculture CDE
State FFA nursery, landscape and floriculture contests at Spartanburg Community College on March 13, 2027.
Spartanburg, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - SC FFA State Milk Quality and Tool ID CDEs
State Milk Quality and State Tool Identification contests for FFA members, both set for March 18, 2027 at the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind in Spartanburg.
Spartanburg, SC | Organizer: SC FFA Association Official event details - State FFA Milk Quality and Tool ID CDE
State FFA milk quality and products and tool identification contests held March 18, 2027, at the SC School for the Deaf and the Blind in Spartanburg.
Spartanburg, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - SC FFA State Forestry CDE
The state FFA Forestry Career Development Event takes place May 1, 2027 at Harbison State Forest in Columbia, where teams identify trees and work timber-cruising problems.
Columbia, SC | Organizer: SC FFA Association Official event details - State FFA Forestry CDE
State FFA forestry contest at Harbison State Forest in Columbia on May 1, 2027.
Columbia, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - Region 3 FFA Tractor Driving CDE
Held each year; the most recent Region 3 FFA tractor driving career development event was September 15, 2026, hosted at the Lee County CTC.
Bishopville, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - FFA Regions 3 and 4 Soils Career Development Event
Regional soils judging contest for FFA chapters in Regions 3 and 4, hosted in Darlington County; the most recent date was October 5, 2026.
SC | Organizer: SC FFA Official event details - Region 2 FFA Tractor Driving CDE
Held each year; the most recent Region 2 FFA tractor driving contest took place October 1, 2026, at the Piedmont Tech Greenwood campus.
Greenwood, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - State FFA Veterinary Science CDE
Held each year; the most recent state FFA veterinary science career development event was November 6, 2026, at Piedmont Tech in Newberry.
Newberry, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details - State FFA Wildlife CDE
Held each year; the most recent state FFA wildlife contest took place November 7, 2026, at the State Shooting Complex in Eastover.
Eastover, SC | Organizer: SC FFA / Clemson Extension Official event details
Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.