More than 1,750 FFA students from across Colorado competed in the Colorado Career Development Events held at Colorado State University’s Fort Collins campus.
The two-day event, coordinated by the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Ag Education team, featured contests where FFA members in grades 7 to 12 showcased skills learned through agricultural education. Competitions took place at CSU’s agricultural teaching and research facilities, including the Nutrien Agricultural Sciences Building, ARDEC (Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center), and B.W. Pickett Arena, among other on and off-campus locations.
Contests covered various topics such as job skills, veterinary science, agricultural sales, dairy cattle judging, and food science and technology. Participants were challenged to demonstrate critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills while upholding the values of fair competition and personal growth.
CSU has been coordinating the state level competitions since at least the 1960s, said Kellie Enns, associate professor of agricultural education.
“One huge reason we invest, year after year, is teamwork and leadership,” Enns continued. Large projects like this only work when you have a massive team that comes together to contribute. Each year we see tremendous effort exhibited, from students, to superintendents, to our Ag Ed faculty…that leadership cannot be underestimated. It is amazing to watch happen!”
State Winners
Career Development Events occur at the local, state and national levels. State winners will move on to compete in the 2024 National FFA Convention and Expo in October.
State Winning Individual:
1. Kebree Clark – Douglas County
2. Jaylen Stibe – Flagler
3. Ena Gibson – Greeley
State Winning Team:
Windsor
State Winning Individual:
1. Kayla Shepardson – Plateau Valley
2. Jennife Gardner- Swink
3. Sydnee Klausner – Weld Central
State Winning Team:
Windsor
State Winning Individual:
1. Alyssa West – Severance
2. Caleb Poss – Akron
3. Brookly Sater – Platte Valley
State Winning Team:
Akron
State Winning Individual:
1. Gabe Levin – Stratton
2. Tyler Lynnes – Bennett
3. Mason Mollohan – Lone Star
State Winning Team:
Lone Star
State Winning Individual:
1. Anothony Adams – Rye
2. Tyler Hill – Bennett
3. Owen Waters – Soroco
State Winning Team:
Rye
State Winning Individual:
1. Xander Checketts – Roosevelt
2. Brayden Carpio – Platte Valley
3. Sicily Lowell – Lone Star
State Winning Team:
Lone Star
State Winning Individual:
1. Hailey Loutzenhiser – Flagler
2. Calvin Frieman – Flagler
3. Taylor Freel – Sangre De Cristo
State Winning Team:
Flagler
State Winning Individual:
1. Colton Cundiff – Briggsdale
2. Michael Slappeya – Rifle
3. Owen Witt – Flagler
State Winning Team:
Rifle
State Winning Individual:
1. Kaitlyn Meisner – Wray
2. Bryar Mcdermid – St Vrain Valley
3. Bonnie Koehn – Weld Central
State Winning Team:
Windsor
State Winning Individual:
1. Holly Morgan – McClave
2. Weston Morgan – McClave
3. Emery Stirnkorb – Cedaredge
State Winning Team:
McClave
State Winning Individual:
1. Brock Fassett – Olathe
2. Nic Hermes – Arickaree
3. Lola Mitchell – Delta
State Winning Team:
Olathe
State Winning Individual:
1. Lacie Laca – Rye
2. Kenzie Summervill – Douglas County
3. Westin Barrows – Weld Central
State Winning Team:
Rye
State Winning Individual:
1. Rustin Williams – Stratton
2. Angel Gutierrez – Wray
3. Sarai Garcia – Fort Morgan
State Winning Team:
Fruita Monument
Faces of the Future of Ag
Dawson Willey
- Grade: Senior
- FFA Chapter: Meeker, CO
- CDE Contest: Milk Quality
- Post-High School Plans: Western Wyoming Community College, Electrical & Instrumentation Technology
- Why did you join FFA? Meeker is a very agriculturally related town and I’ve been around agriculture since I was a little kid. I was in 4-H for eight years and love showing animals – it’s always been a big part of my life. Both of my older siblings did FFA. Our ag advisor, Denee Dinwiddie, is a really big part of why I’m in FFA. In addition to my siblings being in it, she was really excited for me to do it and to take the classes, and she’s a big reason why I’ve stuck to it and why I compete in all these competitions.
- What excites you about the future of agriculture? There’s a bunch of new technology that always comes out of agriculture and it helps make lives not only easier but makes agriculture more accessible for people, enables trade all around the world. It’s really awesome that the education keeps moving forward and getting more and more advanced.
Ashla Fulenwider
- Grade: Senior
- FFA Chapter: Windsor
- CDE Contest: Food Science
- Post-High School Plans: Aims Community College for gen-eds and Green/Sustainable Building Certificate, transfer to CSU
- Why did you join FFA? My grandparents own a beef cattle farm in Missouri, and they essentially pressured me into doing FFA. It’s something that I thought wasn’t going to be fun at all but is one of my favorite things now. After my sophomore year, I really enjoyed it a lot and applied to be an officer, so I was an officer last year.
- What excites you about the future of agriculture? I think agriculture has a lot of diversity – there’s building and there’s plants and there’s animals. I just think it’s really cool and look forward to exploring all the different genres there are in ag.
Justin Swagerty
- Grade: Junior
- FFA Chapter: Windsor, CO
- CDE Contest: Food Science
- Post-High School Plans: CSU Fort Collins and Aimes Community College, Crop Science or Architecture
- Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA because I was really open to new experiences. I heard a lot about the different community projects and organizations we participate in every year. Besides that, I’ve been able to meet so many new people and friends and learn more about agriculture and its different aspects. It gives a lot of peace of mind about what agriculture is really about, and it gives you a lot of real-life experiences that you can carry on for many years.
- What excites you about the future of agriculture? That there are different problems that wait for me to be fixed. I can’t wait to put all my time and effort into creating a new and more sustainable environment in agriculture.
Gracie Nielsen
- Grade: Junior
- FFA Chapter: Platte Valley
- CDE Contest: Ag Sales
- Post-High School Plans: Colby Community College, Ag Business
- Why did you join FFA? I would say I love to be in FFA because my grandpa was in FFA and I want to follow his footsteps. He’s been a huge agriculture person.
- What excites you about the future of ag? I’m excited to help it grow and keep it going. I’m also excited to keep learning about all the new technology they’ve been using, especially now that I’m competing in Ag Sales, I’ve been learning about the new innovations in weeding – like the weed spider.
About the National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is an intra-curricular organization that brings together students, teachers, and agribusiness professionals to prepare members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
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