ST. PAUL, Minn. – Nearly 250 FFA members from across Minnesota will converge on St. Cloud State University Monday, December 15, to vie for spots in national competition in Leadership Development Events (LDEs). Team and individual winners in the areas of Prepared and Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Parliamentary Procedure, Ag Issues, Conduct of Chapter Meetings, Employment Skills and FFA Creed will move on to the National FFA Convention held in the fall of 2026.
Compeer Financial is a major sponsor of the Winter Leadership Summit. Compeer Financial and the Minnesota FFA Foundation work to enrich agriculture through the investment in FFA members.
The Summit also hosts the Minnesota Farm Bureau FFA Discussion Meet on Sunday evening. An invitational event for the FFA Creed will be held in Spanish, Hmong and Somali. It is made possible by a grant for Underserved Populations through the Minnesota Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) with awards sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
The LDE competitors and fellow FFA members will also participate in workshops designed to help them develop practices and records for the Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAEs), a core part of the required and integral part of the agriculture, food and natural resources (AFNR) education component which is part of the FFA experience. The subjects covered will include ag mechanics, equine, community gardens and animal-related projects, among others.
FFA alumni and supporters will also help members who are preparing their applications for the State FFA Degree and Proficiency Awards in their chosen area of AFNR.
Local FFA chapter officers will have access to a session called C.LI.M.B., which is the acronym for Chapter Leaders Igniting Momentum and Brilliance. Newly established members, known as Greenhands, will also participate in a workshop. Older members looking toward graduation will be offered a session to help them prepare scholarship applications, sponsored by the Minnesota FFA Foundation.
Minnesota’s pork, beef, dairy and turkey sectors will join the Summit as well, presenting Livestock Quality Assurance information session along with up-to-date agriculture information. The Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council is providing support for chapter travel to St. Cloud.
The Winter Leadership Summit is complementary to the Minnesota FFA State Convention held in April, where Career Development Events (CDEs) are held to select national competitors.
“The Summit highlights the work these students have already done in their leadership areas but also provides the resources that will help them continue down their agriculture education path,” said Natasha Mortenson, Minnesota FFA career and alumni coordinator. “The partnership Minnesota FFA has with the agricultural commodity organizations shows collective effort put towards growing the next generation of agricultural leaders.”
For more information on the Minnesota FFA Leadership Conference, visit MNFFA.org, or follow Minnesota FFA on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
