More than 4,000 Oklahoma FFA members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo November first through the fourth.
Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked to the Executive Secretary of the Oklahoma FFA Association, Trevor Lucas, who says thousands of Blue and Gold jackets will be seen next week in Indianapolis in and around the FFA Convention- “upwards of four to five getting close to six thousand Oklahoma FFA members will make the trek up to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis- that’s pretty impressive”
Lucas says that Oklahoma will be well represented in the more one hundred competitive events that are decided at the National Convention here in 2023. “We are number one in proficiency award national finalists and we’re number three in the agriscience fair finalists” and in the number of national three star chapters we have the fourth most of any state in America.
Here’s the list of several of these categories and how Oklahoma FFA ranks against other top preforming states:
2023 National FFA Convention Finalist Results
Proficiency National Finalists
1. Oklahoma 20
2. Ohio 19
3. Georgia 18
4. Texas and California tied with 16
Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through supervised agricultural experiences, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers.
Nationally, students can compete for awards in nearly 50 areas ranging from agricultural communications to wildlife management. Proficiency awards are also recognized at local and state levels and provide recognition to members that are exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways.
Agriscience Fair National Finalists
1, Texas 31
2. Ohio 30
3. Oklahoma 28
4. Georgia 26
5. California 23
The National FFA Agriscience Fair recognizes students who gain real-world, hands-on experiences in agricultural enterprises. Students use scientific principles and emerging technologies to solve complex problems related to agriculture, food, and natural resources. The agriscience fair is for middle and high school students. Participation begins at the local level and progresses to state and national levels.
National 3 Star Chapters
- Ohio 30
- Illinois 29
- Georgia 28
- Oklahoma 26
- Missouri 25
Chapters that receive a gold rating by their state FFA associations are eligible to compete for National FFA 3-star, 2-star or 1-star ratings. Each chapter that competes for these awards will receive a multi-year plaque and a spur designating their 3-star, 2-star or 1-star rating. They will receive additional spurs for each year they compete and receive a rating from the National FFA Organization. Chapters that receive a national 3-star chapter rating will be eligible to compete for the National Premier Chapter Awards, Models of Excellence and Middle School Models of Excellence Awards.
National 3 Star Premiere Chapters
- Oklahoma 9
- Kansas and Missouri 5 each
- Georgia, Alabama and Ohio 3 each
The national level also recognizes the top chapters with innovative activities in each of the three divisions: growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. The top ten chapters in each division receive a National FFA Premier Chapter Award plaque. Of those top ten in each division, a top premier chapter will be chosen in each division. Only 3-star chapters are eligible for premier chapter awards.
Hays and Lucas also talked about one young lady who will be on the Lucas Oil Stadium stage from beginning to end as one of the six national FFA officers who is serving as the National Central Region Vice President- Karstyn Cantrell of Skiatook. Click here for a conversation that Ron Hays had with her earlier this year when she stopped and participated in the 2023 Oklahoma FFA Convention in Tulsa.
Check out the PDF below which lists the hundreds of FFA members (and supporters) from Oklahoma that are competing or being recognized November 1-4 in Indianapolis.
