FFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

Arizona FFA's Spring Conference

Arizona students demonstrate career skills in competitive setting!

Over 1,000 FFA members gathered on the University of Arizona Campus for the Arizona FFA annual Spring Conference to participate in developing their future through participating in Career Development Events (CDEs).  Throughout the high school careers of many students will ask their teachers, "When will I ever use this in the real world?" Students enrolled in Agricultural Education have discovered that CDEs are the answer. Since 1928, FFA has worked to create CDEs that demonstrate the meaningful connections between classroom instruction and real-life scenarios CDEs build on what is learned in agricultural classes and the FFA.

 

CDEs are an outgrowth of the curriculum taught in each Agricultural Education program and are designed to develop individual responsibilities, foster teamwork and promote communications while recognizing the value of ethical competition and individual achievement. Most events include appropriate team activities where two or more members from one chapter work cooperatively.

 

By delivering an integrated model of education through classroom learning, real-world work experience and activities designed to promote personal growth, FFA and agricultural education help students discover and plan their own unique route to future success. 

 

The events are designed to help prepare students for careers in agriculture. Classroom instruction comes alive as students demonstrate their skills in a competitive setting. CDEs test the abilities of individuals and teams in major areas of agricultural instruction.

 

Career Development Events give young people the knowledge needed for more than 300 diverse careers in the food, fiber and natural resources industries. Real-world skills members learn through FFA prepare them for a range of futures in such fields as marketing, law, science, international business, veterinary medicine and golf course management.  

 

Below is the list of the 2008 Arizona FFA Spring Conference champions:

 

Agribusiness Management – Safford FFA Chapter

Agricultural Mechanics – Basha FFA Chapter

Agronomy – Casa Grande FFA Chapter

Aquaculture – Flagstaff FFA Chapter

Dairy Management – Highland FFA Chapter

Entomology – Chandler FFA Chapter

Forestry – Millennium FFA Chapter

Horse Evaluation – Chino Valley FFA Chapter

Job Interview – Kensey Skinner, Millennium FFA Chapter

Livestock Evaluation – Benson FFA Chapter

Meats Evaluation and Technology – Chandler FFA Chapter

Nursery/Landscape – Highland FFA Chapter

Range Management – Elfrida FFA Chapter

Soils – Flowing Wells FFA Chapter

Wildlife – Ft. Thomas FFA Chapter

 

 

FFA is a national youth organization of 506,732 student members preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture with 7,223 local chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  FFA strives 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.  For more information about the Arizona Association FFA, visit azffa.org

                                                           

Arizona FFA Spring Conference

In order to accommodate the vast number of Career Development Events offered by the Arizona FFA, the Spring Conference plays host to many of the state level contests.  Held at the University of Arizona in Tucson, the Spring Conference has grown to include sixteen different Career Development Events that test the knowledge of Arizona FFA members in everything from Aquaculture to Wildlife Management.  Through these Career Development Event contests, Arizona FFA members are able to demonstrate the level of proficiency they have attained within their respective agricultural endeavor.  The contests held at the Spring Conference include.

  • Agricultural Business Management: This contest is designed to test students on their ability to take advantage of the career opportunities offered in the agricultural business field and teach them about how proper management and good business strategies are an essential part of a market economy.
  • Agricultural Mechanics: The purpose of this Career Development Event is to test those agricultural mechanics competencies that are important in the modern workplace and inform students of the technical content and required skills needed in all traditional areas of agriculture mechanics.
  • Agronomy: This contest was created to test a student's basic knowledge of agro­nomic sciences, proficiencies in the agronomy industry, determine their ability to identify agronomic items (such as crops and equipment), and evaluate their understanding of sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship.
  • Aquaculture: This Career Development Event was designed to evaluate a student's knowledge of the aquaculture industry through species identification and general knowledge tests on aquatic animals.
  • Dairy Foods: This contest focuses on testing students' knowledge and enhancing learning activities related to milk quality, federal milk marketing, attributes of milk products, and the general areas or functions in the network of persons who make possible the enjoyment of high quality dairy foods by consumers.
  • Entomology: After learning the general information about insects' behavior, structure, lifecycle, etc., students are able to demonstrate their proficiency in the entomology competition which challenges students by testing their ability to present this information correctly.
  • Field Crop: This event is used to evaluate a student's ability to correctly identify the various grasses, shrubs, and plant life in Arizona at all stages of development as well as determine the nutrient level of soil and identify crop grades.
  • Forestry: The forestry Career Development Event exists to stimulate student interest and to promote forestry instruction in the agricultural education curriculum and to provide recognition for those who have demonstrated skills and competencies as a result of forestry instruction.
  • Horse Evaluation and Selection: The purpose of the Horse Evaluation Career Development Event is to test a student's knowledge of equine science, as well as their management and produc­tion skills.
  • Job Interview: The Job Interview Career Development Event is designed for FFA members to develop, practice and demonstrate skills needed in seeking employment in the agricultural industry. Each part of the event simulates "real world" activities that will be used by employers.
  • Livestock Evaluation: This Career Development Event was designed to test a student's understanding and ability to interpret the value of performance data based on industry stan­dards for livestock such as determining desirable traits in animals, making logical decisions, and defending their ranking of the livestock.
  • Meats Evaluation and Technology: This contest was developed to asses the employment skills a student has who is interested in exploring career opportunities in the meat animal industry through a written exam on basic knowledge and the evaluation of different cuts of meat.
  • Nursery/Landscape: The scope of this Career Development Event includes all aspects of the nursery/landscape industry in producing, marketing, utilizing and maintaining landscape plants, plus related products, equipment and services including landscape design.
  • Range Management: This event tests a student's understanding and identification ability of all range plants including forge, grains, and grasses as well as their proficiency at determining how much of the land is usable and for how long based on the nutrient content of the soil.
  • Soils: The basis of the Soils contest is to determine the student's ability to properly judge land quality by testing for its composition and drainage as well as determine how soil moves over time and, based on the characteristics of samples, what the soil is suitable to be used for.
  • Wildlife Management: The Wildlife Management Career Development Event evaluates a student's understanding of native animals and their habitats through a series of tests on animal identification, general knowledge, and navigating.

 

The next Arizona FFA Spring Conference will be held on March 5, 2009. Many of the state's Career Development Events are held at this conference. 

Please see your local FFA advisor to find out how you can join a Career Development Event team today! Please click here for more information and registration forms.

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