Contact: AnnMarie Cornejo
805-756-2427; [email protected]

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 6. This weekend marks more than eight decades that Cal Poly has hosted the event.

Numerous local high schools with an FFA chapter in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties are expected to participate, including Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Coast Union (Cambria), Nipomo, Templeton, Righetti and Pioneer Valley (Santa Maria) high schools. In all, more than 155 schools from across California will take part.

Students will compete in 22 events throughout the day in categories including Agronomy, Dairy Cattle, Farm Business Management, Floriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Nursery Landscape, Marketing, Vegetable Crops, and Vet Science.

Judged events will be evaluated by a group of volunteers including Cal Poly faculty, staff and students; industry professionals; and community members.

“The State FFA Judging Finals is an amazing opportunity for each student and team to demonstrate their skills and be recognized for their outstanding accomplishments,” said Ben Swan, head of the Agricultural Education and Communication Department. “For many students, this competition marks the beginning or the end of their FFA careers. It is our goal to honor those teams and students who have worked hard all year and earned the title of state champion.”

The winners of each event will be named at an awards ceremony. Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong and College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean Andrew Thulin are scheduled to speak. The awards ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Cal Poly’s Mott Athletics Center. Winners will represent California at the National FFA Convention in October in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Note to editors: The competition is open to media. Contact AnnMarie Cornejo to coordinate coverage of any of the events.

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 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. It is the fifth-largest college of agriculture in the nation, with 4,000 undergraduate students. Learn more at cafes.calpoly.edu.