By Dan M. Dylla, USC FFA Advisor
The USC FFA Chapter attended the Minnesota State FFA Convention at the UofM campus and the State Fairgrounds Sunday through Tuesday, April 19-21, 2026. 41 USC FFA members were competing in 8 contests and several award activities. In all, over 5,700 FFA members and guests from all over Minnesota attended the convention.
Sunday and Monday, April 19 & 20, the USC FFA had 34 members competing in 8 different FFA judging contests. The contest areas were Fish & Wildlife Management, Dairy Cattle Evaluation, Ag Mechanics, Soils Judging, Farm Business Management, Floriculture Judging and Nursery/Landscape Judging. All the teams and individuals qualified by placing high enough in regional competition during the past 8 months.
The USC FFA Fish & Wildlife Management team earned its trip to the State Contest by placing 6th at Regionals last December. The team placed 33rd out of 60 teams in the contest for a “Silver” Rating. Individually Parker Lau (Gold), Tanner Ertman (Silver), Wheylan Haney (Bronze) and Jayvyn Carlock (Bronze). The team title went to the Maple River FFA Chapter.
The USC FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation team earned a trip to the State Contest by placing 3rd at Regionals last Fall. The team placed 21st out of 60 teams in the contest for a “Silver” Rating. Individually Garrett Lau (Gold), Saywyer Sahr (Silver), Josephina Olsen (Silver) and Josey Schroeder (Silver). The team title went to the Fillmore FFA Chapter.
The Ag Mechanics team competed at the state contest by placing 2nd at regionals in January at SCC-Mankato. At the State contest, the team placed 15th out of 39 teams for a “Silver” rating. Individually: Noah Todd (Gold), Nathan Glenn (Silver), Zayden Willette (Silver) and Riley Stevermer (Bronze). The Holdingford FFA Chapter won the team title.
The USC FFA Nursery/Landscape Judging Team made a return trip to the State contest by placing 3rd at the Region 7 Contest in April at USC. When results were announced the team placed 11th in the State out of 38 teams for a “Gold” rating. Individually: Jake Cassens (Gold), Brianna Boyd (Gold), Hailey Chandler (Silver) and Wyatt Haugh (Silver). The team title went to the Maple River FFA Chapter.
The USC FFA Soils Judging Team made an appearance at the State contest by earning 2nd place at the regional contest last fall at SCC-Mankato. The team placed 10th out of 45 teams which earned them a “Gold” rating. Individually Ethan Passer (Gold), Jayden Barnick (Gold), Wyatt Rauenhorst (Golf) and Seth Kayser (Silver). The team title went to the Westbrook Walnut Grove FFA Chapter.
On Sunday, April 19, The Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) team competed and placed 8th overall out of 68 teams for a “Gold” Rating. Team members included: Ashtin Seedorf (Gold) 11th overall out of 352 individuals, Miley Engebretson (Gold) and 15th overall, Kylin Cords (Gold), Octavio Hernandez (Gold), Grace Walton (Gold) and Reyna Solland (Gold). The team qualified for the State contest by earning 1st place at the regional contest in March at SCC-Mankato. The first place team was from the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter.
The Farm Business Management Team competed at the State contest by placing 2nd at regionals in December at Maple River. At the state contest the team placed 8th out of 46 teams for a “Gold” rating. Individually: Joe Ridler (Gold), Mitchell Meyer (Gold), Julianna Clore (Silver), and Peyton Winkle (Bronze). The Russell Tyler Ruthton FFA Chapter won the team title.
The USC FFA Floriculture Team made its annual trip to the State Contest by placing 2nd at Regionals in April at USC. The team placed 7th out of 46 teams in the contest for a “Gold” Rating. Individually: Kylee Koziolek (Gold) 7th overall out of 174, Carissa Hanson 17th overall (Gold), Chevelle Olsen (Silver) and Jaelyn Stangler (Silver). The team title went to the Fillmore Central FFA Chapter.
In all the USC FFA had a very rewarding state convention. The members went with very high expectations for themselves and their teams. Many of their goals were achieved, and in several cases surpassed. The overall highlight was having the Floriculture Team place 7th, Freshman Best Informed Greenhand (BIG) place 8th, Farm Business Management place 8th, Soils Team place 10th and the Nursery/Landscape Team earn a “Gold” rating at State. The chapter has been led by a super group of seniors who will be missed for their excellent leadership abilities and hard work. Each member is to be commended for a fantastic State FFA Convention.
