When the 2025-26 South Dakota FFA state officers learned they’d be heading to Washington, D.C., excitement spread fast.
“Our advisor came in and said, ‘Guess what? You’re all going to D.C.,’” says Skyler Plucker, the 2025-26 South Dakota FFA state sentinel. “Usually only two members go, but this time, because of a grant, we could all go. I’d never been to D.C. before — it was awesome.”
The National FFA Student Engagement and Travel Assistance Grants, which are sponsored by corporate partners CHS, Ford, Bayer, Greif, Syngenta and Valent, help fund transformative experiences like the State Officer Summit conference, where student leaders from across the country gather to develop leadership skills, advocate for agriculture and strengthen their team bonds.
A Life-Changing Experience
Without the grant, most state officer teams would have been limited to sending two delegates; the funds allowed entire teams to travel to Washington, D.C., together. For 2025-26 Massachusetts FFA State Secretary Reese Hughes, traveling to the nation’s capital offered something deeper than a chance to see the sights.
“We had the amazing opportunity to talk to our representatives on Capitol Hill and practice having those conversations,” Hughes says. “It helped us learn how to be better listeners and how to represent our peers and our state effectively.”
The experience was equally valuable for the 2025-26 Maine FFA State Officer Team, pictured above.
“There were over 300 state officers from different states,” says Callie Cullins, who’s serving as the 2025-26 Maine FFA state vice president. “We worked together collaboratively but also got to advocate for our own state’s agriculture. We met with one of our representatives and two of our senators to talk about some of the bigger issues we see in Maine agriculture and how we can try to tackle those.”
The lessons learned throughout the five-day conference extended beyond leadership. Plucker built connections (and friendships) with officers from other states, and it taught the South Dakota FFA state officers valuable lessons about facilitating programming for different groups.
“It gave us resources and confidence to bring back to our younger members,” Cullins adds. From Maine to Massachusetts to South Dakota, the impact of these travel grants went far beyond the destination
“Being there together, as a team, and figuring out how we work best wasn’t just about learning leadership in theory,” Hughes says. “We got to live it.”
Learn to Lead
Check out upcoming events that qualify for National FFA Student Engagement and Travel Assistance Grants and start an application.
