Wisconsin FFA Career Development Events

What Wisconsin FFA Career Development Events Are

Career development events, or CDEs, are team and individual contests that test the skills of an agricultural career, such as judging livestock, scoring milk, identifying plants or grading meat. Wisconsin members in grades 7 to 12 may compete, according to The Farm, and most CDE teams have four members. A student who prefers speaking and meetings to judging should look at leadership events instead; this guide covers the career side.

The Path: Regional, State, National

Wisconsin CDEs run in stages. Per the Holmen FFA CDE page, regional contests are held at UW-River Falls or UW-Platteville, the state contests are held at UW-Madison and Madison Area Technical College, and state winners advance to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Regional qualifying contests feed the state level for the events marked that way on that page: Ag Mechanics, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Floriculture, Horse Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Milk Quality Products, Poultry Evaluation, Veterinary Science and Wildlife. The page does not say how the other events qualify, so ask your advisor.

The Contest List

The Holmen page lists these CDE areas, some of which are held at only one regional site:

• Ag Sales (UW-Platteville only), Ag Mechanics, Agronomy
• Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Livestock Evaluation, Horse Evaluation, Poultry Evaluation, Milk Quality Products, Veterinary Science, Wildlife
• Farm and Agribusiness Management, Floriculture, Soils
• Forestry and Nursery Landscape (UW-River Falls only), Meats Evaluation (UW-Platteville only)
• Middle School Agriscience
• Land Judging and Tractor Driving at Farm Technology Days

Mid-State Technical College offers a 13-event local contest covering Agronomy, Ag Technology and Mechanical Systems, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Farm Business, Floriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Meats Evaluation and Technology, Middle School Agriscience, Milk Quality and Products, Poultry, Veterinary Science and Wildlife, per its FFA CDE page.

Qualifying Contests You Can Enter

Several colleges host contests that count toward state qualification. Dates change each year, but recent listings give you an idea of timing:

• UW-Platteville held its area contests on March 26, 2026. Registration runs through Judging Card, which also handles payments, and spots are first-come, first-served, according to the UW-Platteville FFA page. Participant limits included 24 in Ag Mechanics, Floriculture, Meats, Veterinary Science and Poultry, 12 in Ag Sales and Agriculture Education, 40 in Milk Quality and 45 in Horse. Farm and Agribusiness Management is entirely online.
• Teams are limited to one per chapter per CDE with four individuals, members must have dues paid, and members can only participate in qualifying CDEs. No screening events are required.
• Mid-State Technical College's contest at the Wisconsin Rapids campus is set for Tuesday, March 23, 2027, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for FFA members in grades 7 to 12 from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Dairy Cattle, Livestock and Forestry are held in unheated facilities, and official dress is not required.
• The UW-River Falls Agricultural Technology Contest is listed for April 3, 2027. It has run annually since 1961 and draws nearly 1,000 students, and some events qualify students for state or national CDEs.

State CDEs in Madison

State CDEs are held on the UW-Madison campus. In 2022, 1,232 FFA members came to Madison at the end of April to compete in 15 CDEs, with 331 teams from more than 140 schools. Teams had qualified through regional live and virtual competitions. The Milk Quality contest alone had 35 teams and 137 contestants, who scored milk, sampled cheese, identified natural versus artificial products, scored sediment discs and took a dairy knowledge exam. The Milton FFA team won that event and went on to represent Wisconsin at nationals.

A 2026 report from Mayville FFA shows how placing works at state. The chapter sent 12 students on three teams to Madison: its Nursery and Landscape team placed 7th with one student finishing 3rd individually, Forestry placed 11th, and Milk Quality and Dairy Products Evaluation placed 24th in one of the largest contests at the event, with one student 5th individually.

Choosing an Event

• Match the contest to your project: livestock exhibitors fit Livestock or Meats, dairy members fit Milk Quality or Dairy Cattle, and gardeners fit Floriculture or Nursery Landscape.
• Check which regional site hosts your event, since Forestry and Nursery Landscape are River Falls only and Ag Sales and Meats are Platteville only.
• Four-person teams need a full roster, and each chapter gets one team per CDE at Platteville, so talk to your advisor early.
• Middle schoolers can try Middle School Agriscience.

Preparing

• Ask your advisor for past contest materials and the contest policies for each host site.
• Visit local farms, plants and nurseries to see real examples.
• Dress for the weather, because some events run in unheated buildings.
• Register early. Platteville spots go first-come, first-served.
• Confirm travel for both the regional round in spring and the state round in Madison.

Frequently Asked Questions

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