This year, 18 Sleepy Eye FFA members applied for State FFA Degrees. The State FFA Degree is the second highest degree attainable in FFA, behind the American FFA Degree.

The members who applied for the State FFA Degree included: Charlie Hoffmann, Noah Rossbach, McCoy Marti, Daniel Armstrong, Logan Ludewig, Carter Lazatin, Ari Krzmarzick, Alex Confer, Cameron Moore, Jasmine Petermann, Kayden Klein, Hannah Meyer, Dawson Friton, Destiney Dittbenner, Zack Dominguez, Jaelynn Schauman, Mateo Hornsby, and Taylor Berkner.

In order to receive a State FFA Degree, an applicant must have Chapter FFA Degree, be an active FFA member, completing two years of agricultural classroom instruction, invest $2,000 or work 300 hours through an SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience), and complete at least 25 hours of community service.

Four of the members also applied for the State Star, the highest honor for a State FFA Degree recipient, recognizing the top member with an outstanding SAE in areas of Agribusiness, Placement, Agriscience, and Farmer. These members were: Taylor Berkner for Star Farmer, Noah Rossbach for Star in Placement, Logan Ludewig for Star in Agribusiness, and Alex Confer for Star in Agriscience. Noah, Logan, and Alex each won in their area and will advance to the state level!

Six Sleepy Eye FFA Members competed in the Region VI FFA Proficiency Interviews on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Pictured left to right – Noah Rossbach (Region Winner), Kenedi Wersal (Region Winner), Davin Suess (Region Winner), Jasmine Petermann, Ethan Hinderman, and Wyatt Juenemann (Region Winner). Submitted photo

Agricultural Proficiency Awards honor FFA members who, through SAE 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 who are exploring and becoming established in agricultural career pathways.

Six Sleepy Eye members completed Proficiency Applications. The results were:

Wyatt Juenemann – 1st place in Turf & Landscape Maintenance

Kenedi Wersal – 1st place in Equine Science Placement

Four Sleepy Eye members submitted their State Degrees to be a Star in one of four areas: Farmer, Agribusiness, Placement, and Agriscience. Pictured l to r – Noah Rossbach

Noah Rossbach – 1st place in Dairy Production Placement

Jasmine Petermann – 2nd place in Dairy Production Placement

Davin Suess – 1st place in Diversified Ag. Production Placement

Ethan Hinderman – 3rd place in Poultry Production

The Proficiency Applications will now go to the state level and the State Proficiency Judging will take place in March.

Region VI Officer Elections were held in Westbrook, MN on Feb. 10, 2026. Pictured is our newly elected Region Reporter, Alex Confer.

Region VI Officer Interviews were also held. Becoming a Region Officer helps FFA members be more active in FFA beyond the chapter level. Serving on an elite team of FFA Members simulates working with others in a professional work environment.

Eric Lozano and Jace Schauman served as the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter voting delegates for the Region Officer Interviews. They voted on the 2026-27 Region VI Officer Slate: Alex Confer was selected as the Reporter.

The FFA members will receive their State FFA Degrees at the State FFA Convention in April at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.