2026 SD FFA State Convention Info

• Location:
• Dacotah Bank Center Lobby
• Time:
• Sunday: 7-8pm
• Monday: 7am-11am

The following items will be available for advisors to pick up following Session 4 at First Bank & Trust Arena:

• Proficiency, Agriscience, Star award checks
• State LDE Pins
• CDE Gold Recipients that are not placing in top 10
• Note: Top 10% of participants receive gold. All Gold medal recipients will receive a medal. Only the top 10 will be awarded on stage. Silver and Bronze medals are not provided by the state.
• National Chapter Application Feedback

• Content for each session can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jI1eJc-X8ErnT0X4mSEj9BGhm1dnjW5gLIT4HZvZUfU/edit?usp=sharing
• Map for the arena layout is below
• Please note the areas students will not be allowed, including any of the suites, The Midco Club, the Furniture Mart Showroom, and the Dakota Layers Deck. Also please refrain from wandering the hallways or entering any locker rooms!
• Note on the map: There is only ONE access point from the stands to the floor and it is between sections 213 and 212. In order to access the floor from any other section, you will need to go up and around and enter from the back corners of the arena!
• CDE Results Announcement:
• Due to the difficulty in accessing the floor, we will be announcing the TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS and TOP 3 TEAMS for all CDE Contests via e-mail Wednesday morning prior to the start of session! There will then be reserved seating for them on the floor to increase the efficiency of Session 4!

Delegate Session will be held Tuesday at 2pm at the Dacotah Bank Center Room A & B. Each active chapter will be allowed to send 2 voting delegates to this session.

The agenda is as follows:

• Opening Ceremonies
• Roll Call
• Previous Meeting Minutes
• Committee Reports
• National Convention Report
• New Business
• SD FFA Association Constitution Updates
• Closing Ceremonies

Please make sure your Thank you's are STAMPED and bring them to registration. Below is the link to all the addresses.

These do NOT need to be stamped, but please keep them separate from the above sponsor notes and turn them in at registration!

Below is the bus schedule for all CDE-related items. Note that there is a lot of information so please note that the schedule is listed by each bus for each day. Also, note at the bottom the only times advisors are responsible for picking up or taking competitors to a location.

SDSU has been working closely with us to ensure we have responsible, expert staff for campus locations to ride/chaperone the buses. We will also have signs on the doors of the bus for each day and a means of communication if any buses get behind for any reason.

Please know that we are ten days out from convention and although there shouldn't be any changes, please watch your emails for and also make sure to check in with any updates on this schedule at the on-site registration that will take place at Dacotah Bank Center on Sunday night and again Monday morning.

Important: unless specific exemptions have been arranged prior to convention, only students that arrive on the designated buses will be allowed to compete.

1) All students should meet inside the Dacotah Bank Center in the first two sets of bleachers on the main floor (sections 106-107), like last year, or stand immediately in front of those bleachers on the floor. Have your students arrive at the 106-107 section at least one minute before load time. There will be no chapter assignments for the specific bus that is going.

2) The start times for each event are listed in the program and are accurate but some will need to start slightly earlier or slightly later based on how we had to make some adjustments for getting to bus the more than 2,300 competitors. Yes, some teams might have to wait at their delivery location for their event but staff will be present to ensure students know where to be.

3) The food science team presentation times were emailed directly to advisors that have teams. The assignments for the remaining CDEs that have multiple sections have been emailed out on the AgEd ListServ. If you haven't received either document and need it, please reply ONLY to me and I will send it to you.

4) Ag Mechanics: If you have one or two students competing, they will only do the individual portion and NOT the team portion.

5) Ag Business (advisors are responsible for picking up their students when they finish). All members will ride to the event on the state buses but there will be no bus available to transport students when they finish.

6) On Monday, please pick up your students from campus ONLY if they are in Horse, Natural Resources, Vet Science, or Ag Mechanics. Many students will finish around the same time, and we will only have four state buses available. We will send buses to ensure all students get picked up, but the process will be much faster if you help. Please focus your pickup in the Raven parking lot.

*Changes to locations are as follows:

• Food Science Teams: Student Union
• Presentation: State Room (260)
• Prep Room: Heritage Room (258)
• Veterinary Science: Student Union, Volstorff Ballroom
• Agronomy: Raven Precision Ag Center
• Range Plant ID: BioStress 179

• Car parking will be available in lots 159 (Directly east of First Bank & Trust Arena) with overflow parking in lot 160 (east of the Performing Arts Center). These lots will be noted as reserved the duration of state convention.
• Car parking is also available in lot 150 (lot east of the student union). This is a PAID parking lot and you would be responsible for the cost associated with parking there.
• Buses will need to be parked north of the football stadium in the gravel lot. Please see the attached route map with drop off location. It is important that you follow this as it will prevent roads from being blocked off entirely before and after sessions. (For those who attended Little I, this is the same route used for that event).

Please note: Parking services will directly contact the superintendent of any buses not parked in the appropriate lot. Please respect their request for parking locations while we are on campus!

This number can be shared with your students and chaperones as well. While you are always able to call Caroline, Wyatt, or Mercedes directly, the state office number will always be manned by somebody to answer. That should be your first call in the event of an emergency!