The Skills You Don’t See on the Results Sheet: How CDEs and LDEs are Preparing Students for the Future

Sarah Craun of Turner Ashby High School places first in prepared public speaking for the state of Virginia.

From evaluating livestock, to tasting flavors in milk for quality and making motions for parliamentary procedure, FFA competitions prepare members for their futures and advance their learning skills.

Sarah Craun is a freshman at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. Throughout her four years at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater, Va., Craun competed in a variety of career development events (CDEs) and leadership development events (LDEs). Each of these events helped prepare her for where she is today.

Craun’s CDEs included meat evaluation, livestock evaluation, crops judging, dairy cattle evaluation and management, and milk quality and products. She also competed LDEs that included Creed speaking, prepared public speaking and parliamentary procedure. Craun had the opportunity to compete at the district, area, state and national levels in several of these events.

“Competing and advancing to the next level in my competitions pushed me to continuously improve and perform at a high standard,” she says.

Carrie Miller, Sarah Craun, Grayson Long and Malaina Ritchie place first in meats evaluation at national convention.

Interest to Influence

Craun is a fourth-generation member of her family’s farm in Rockingham County, Va. “Agriculture has always been a central part of my life, and it initially drew me to these competitions,” she says.

Her interest was especially in livestock and dairy evaluation because of her experiences working with animals. However, she completed in meat evaluation and milk quality to better understand the industry beyond the farm. The leadership events stood out to Craun because they “helped me grow in confidence and develop strong communication skills,” she says.

Craun says these competitions had a lasting and very noticeable impact on her everyday life. She has seen a difference in her work ethic, decision-making abilities and confidence in high-pressure situations.

“Whether I am in the classroom, at work or on the farm, I apply the critical thinking and communication skills I developed through FFA,” she says.

These skills have also helped Craun get to where she is today and prepare for her future. She graduated from Turner Ashby in May of 2025 and is now majoring in animal science. She plans to transfer to a four-year college in the fall of 2027 to obtain her bachelor’s degree. After college, Craun hopes to find a career in cattle buying for companies such as JBS or Tyson, or pursue a career in selling livestock pharmaceuticals for companies such as Merck or Zoetis.

“My experiences in FFA competitions have directly influenced these goals by giving me both the technical knowledge and professional skills needed in these career paths,” she says.

As a high school senior, Craun ran a cattle evaluation and dairymen’s station for middle school students.

Attention, Current FFA Members

When it comes to preparing for competitions, it takes a lot of practice, studying and working closely with your team and advisors. Craun experienced this firsthand and learned to focus on repetition, mock competitions and learning from her mistakes. Craun says the key to doing good when competing in CDEs and LDEs is to stay consistent and be willing to put in the effort. It’s also important to step outside of your comfort zone and ask questions.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice, and remember the setbacks are part of the process,” she says. “The more work you put in, the more confident and successful you will become.”