More than 12,700 Texas FFA members participated in 28 different Career Development Events this spring, each one vying to be named state champion in their respective contest.

Career Development Events (CDEs) build on what is learned in agricultural classes and encourage members to put their knowledge into practice. These events are designed to help a member prepare for a career in agriculture by testing and challenging the student's technical, leadership, interpersonal and teamwork skills as well as their knowledge of the subject matter.

Many CDEs are qualifying events for the National FFA CDE competition and/or offer scholarship opportunities.

The 2014 Texas FFA CDE champions include:

Ag Communications – James Madison FFA

Ag Mechanics – Sandra Day O'Connor FFA

Ag Sales – Smithson Valley FFA

Agronomy – James Madison FFA

Cotton – Glasscock County FFA

Dairy Cattle – El Campo FFA

Entomology – Stephenville FFA

Environmental & Natural Resource – Rusk FFA

Farm Business Management – Midlothian FFA

Floriculture – Stephenville FFA

Food Science – Florence FFA

Forage – Avery FFA

Forestry – Dayton FFA

Horse – Marion FFA

Home Site Evaluation – Paducah FFA

Land –Klein FFA

Livestock – Spearman FFA

Marketing Plan – Anderson-Shiro FFA

Meats – East Central FFA

Milk Quality – La Vernia FFA

Nursery/Landscape – James Madison FFA

Poultry – Gilmer FFA

Range – Anson FFA

Range Plant ID – Teague FFA

Tractor Technician – A&M Consolidated FFA

Veterinary Science – Clear Springs FFA

Wildlife – Tomball FFA

Wool – Canyon - New Braunfels FFA