Thousands of Iowa FFA Students Gather for Annual State Conference

The 98th Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference brings together over 5,000 students for competitions, workshops, and a major service project.

Apr. 17, 2026 at 10:02pm

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A grid of stylized, brightly colored silkscreen images of an iconic FFA emblem or agricultural object, rendered in a high-contrast, neon-infused pop art style.The vibrant energy of the Iowa FFA State Conference transforms agricultural symbols into bold, eye-catching pop art.Ames Today

The 98th annual Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference is taking place this weekend at Iowa State University's Hilton Coliseum in Ames. Around 5,000 Iowa members of the agricultural education organization will attend the three-day event, which features over 40 competitions, leadership workshops, and a service project packaging 220,000 meals for Meals from the Heartland.

Why it matters

The Iowa FFA State Conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of agricultural education students in the country. It provides crucial leadership development, career planning, and hands-on learning opportunities for middle and high schoolers across the state, helping to shape the next generation of Iowa's agricultural workforce.

The details

The conference will include workshops led by industry partners and state officers from other states, covering topics like public speaking, job interviews, biotechnology, and farm business management. Over 1,200 FFA members from more than 80 chapters will also participate in a service project packaging meals for Meals from the Heartland, continuing a long-standing partnership that has resulted in nearly 3 million meals packaged by Iowa FFA students.

  • The 98th annual Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference runs from Sunday, April 27 to Tuesday, April 29, 2026.
  • The meal packaging service project will take place during the conference.

The players

Scott Johnson

Executive director of the Iowa FFA Association.

Meals from the Heartland

A non-profit organization that partners with the Iowa FFA to provide meal packaging opportunities for students.

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What they’re saying

“One of the opportunities we have is to work with industry partners and state officers from other states that will come in and deliver workshops. The nice thing about that mix is that there's a variety of options.”

— Scott Johnson, Executive Director, Iowa FFA Association

“From a student standpoint, 'Well, it's the teacher's job, right? It's the coach's job to tell us we're supposed to do these things,' but you put a guest presenter in front of them and it tends to be received differently and have that impact.”

— Scott Johnson, Executive Director, Iowa FFA Association

What’s next

The Iowa FFA Association will continue planning for the 99th annual Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference in 2027.

The takeaway

The Iowa FFA State Conference demonstrates the vital role agricultural education plays in developing the next generation of Iowa's agricultural leaders, providing hands-on learning, career planning, and community service opportunities for thousands of students across the state.