Cal Poly to Host California FFA State Finals Competition May 5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2018
Contact: Megan Silcott, director of the Brock Center for Agricultural Communication
(805) 478-1510 or msilcott@calpoly.edu
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly will host more than 2,000 students from across the state at the annual California State FFA Finals competition Saturday, May 5.
Students will compete in 21 events throughout the day in categories including Agronomy, Dairy Cattle, Farm Business Management, Floriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Nursery Landscape, Marketing, Vegetable Crops, Vet Science, and Welding.
Judged events will be evaluated by a group of volunteers including Cal Poly faculty, staff and students, industry professionals, and community members.
The winners of each event will be named at an awards ceremony where Cal Poly President Jeffery D. Armstrong and College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean Andrew Thulin are scheduled to speak. Awards will be given at 5:30 p.m. in the Cal Poly Recreation Center. Winners will represent California at the National FFA Convention in October in Indianapolis, Indiana.
A selected group of Cal Poly student leaders have coordinated the event. The students are part of committees including awards and finance, sponsorship, BBQ, communications and tabulations. Months of planning, meetings and logistics lead up to the culminating State FFA Finals event.
“Having had a great experience as an FFA member attending State Finals, led me to choose Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for my education; so, I wanted to be able to give back to the organization while I had the chance before I get to bring my own students to this awesome event,” Emily Herzog said. Herzog is a graduate student in the Agricultural Education and Communication Department working towards her high school teaching credential in agricultural education.
Nick Maldonado, a junior studying agricultural communication, said, “I chose to volunteer because I remember when I was an FFA member, and those were some of the best times throughout my high school experience. I’m happy to be a part of this year’s state finals and help put it on so that kids can have great memory at Cal Poly.”
About the National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is a youth organization of nearly 650,000 student members in 8,568 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal chapter granted by the 81st U.S. Congress, and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs.
The California FFA Association serves more than 82,000 high school students from 332 schools across the state.
About Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Cal Poly is a nationally ranked, comprehensive polytechnic university. The university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences is comprised of expert faculty members who take pride in their ability to transform academically motivated students into innovative professionals ready to solve the complex challenges associated with feeding the world in sustainable ways. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories including ranchland, orchards, vineyards and forests, all of which provide the basis for Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing methodology.
