INDIANAPOLIS — Nebraska FFA members are wrapping up the 99th National FFA Convention & Expo with two national championships, multiple top-five finishes and recognition across a wide range of agricultural competitions.
The convention, held Oct. 21-24 in Indianapolis, brought together more than 72,000 FFA members and guests from across the country.
Nebraska students competed in career and leadership development events, presented agriscience research projects, received proficiency awards and earned recognition for their local chapters.
Gothenburg FFA’s Carson Reiman claims two national titles
One of Nebraska’s biggest stories came from Gothenburg FFA member and Nebraska FFA state president Carson Reiman, who earned two national championships during the convention.
Reiman first won the National Prepared Public Speaking Leadership Development Event, earning a gold emblem and first place in the competition.
Read more: Gothenburg FFA’s Carson Reiman wins national prepared public speaking championship
He followed that achievement by winning the national Vegetable Production proficiency award.
Reiman developed his supervised agricultural experience through his business, Reiman Spuds, growing and marketing potatoes near Gothenburg. His production increased from 4,500 pounds in 2022 to 13,000 pounds in 2024.
Read more: Carson Reiman claims second national title with vegetable production award
Nebraska students post strong Agriscience Fair results
Nebraska students earned several top-five finishes in the National FFA Agriscience Fair, which recognizes research projects involving agriculture, food and natural resources.
Johnson County Central FFA members Reese Badertscher and Sophia Schmid placed second in Food Products and Processing Systems, Division 4.
Listen: Reese Badertscher and Sophia Schmid discuss their agriscience project
Waverly FFA member Esther VanOverbeke also earned second place in Food Products and Processing Systems, Division 5.
Other notable results included:
- Battle Creek’s Clare Schmidt — third, Environmental Services/Natural Resource Systems, Division 3.
- Johnson County Central’s Molly Weber and Saige Rother — fourth, Food Products and Processing Systems, Division 6. Listen to the interview.
- Nebraska Ag Academy’s Emily Brhel — fourth, Environmental Services/Natural Resource Systems, Division 5. Listen to the interview.
- Johnson-Brock’s Brantley Robbins — fifth, Food Products and Processing Systems, Division 1.
- Johnson County Central’s Adree Case and Cooper Jones — fifth, Environmental Services/Natural Resource Systems, Division 4. Listen to the interview.
- Norris FFA’s Ava Schmutte and Olivia Zoubek — fifth, Plant Systems, Division 6.
Additional Nebraska agriscience interviews include:
- Reese Cunningham, Elwood FFA — Animal Systems, Division 1, ninth place
- Drake Fries and Sawyer McIntosh, Elm Creek FFA — Power, Structural and Technical Systems, Division 2, sixth place
Additional Nebraska entries placed in the top 10 across animal systems, plant systems and power, structural and technical systems.
Eustis-Farnam earns fourth nationally in agronomy
Eustis-Farnam FFA members Hunter Kugler, Madelyn Kugler, Christian Maurer and Malakai White earned fourth place nationally in the Agronomy Career Development Event.
The team also received a gold emblem.
Read more: Eustis-Farnam FFA earns fourth place nationally in agronomy competition
Nebraska Ag Academy also recorded a strong finish in Agricultural Sales, placing seventh nationally as a team. Emily Brhel finished fourth individually.
Other gold emblem team honors went to Leigh FFA in Farm and Agribusiness Management, Johnson-Brock FFA in Agricultural Issues Forum and Palmyra FFA in Horse Evaluation.
Nebraska chapters also received silver and bronze emblem recognition in competitions including Floriculture, Veterinary Science, Livestock Evaluation, Forestry, Agricultural Communications, Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Employment Skills.
Additional Rural Radio Network interviews with Nebraska competitors include:
- Maelee Forch, Dundy County FFA — Creed Speaking
- Cozad FFA — Floriculture
- McCook FFA — Veterinary Science
- Overton FFA — Forestry
- Hayden Uerling, McCook FFA — Employment Skills
- Elm Creek FFA — Environmental and Natural Resources
- St. Paul FFA — Marketing Plan
Four Nebraska members recognized as national proficiency finalists
Four Nebraska FFA members were named national proficiency finalists, recognizing their work in supervised agricultural experience programs.
Along with Reiman’s national championship in Vegetable Production, the finalists included:
- Esther VanOverbeke, Waverly FFA — Agriscience Research Integrated Systems. Listen to the interview.
- Jaelin Wolfinger, SEM FFA — Beef Production, Entrepreneurship. Watch the interview.
- Reese Hirschfeld, York FFA — Small Animal Production and Care. Listen to the interview.
Proficiency awards recognize FFA members for their accomplishments in agricultural businesses, employment, research and other supervised agricultural experiences.
Nebraska chapters earn national recognition
Nebraska FFA chapters were also recognized through the National Chapter Award program.
Eleven Nebraska chapters earned three-star recognition: Beatrice, Lakeview, Meridian, Minden, Nebraska City, Newman Grove, Norfolk, Southern Valley, Stuart, Waverly and Wayne.
Nine chapters earned two-star recognition: Blue Hill, Elm Creek, Heartland, Holdrege, Humphrey, Osmond, Overton, Palmer and West Holt.
The National Chapter Award program recognizes chapters for their work in growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture.
Nebraska’s results at the convention reflect achievements across agricultural research, leadership, technical skills and hands-on agricultural projects.
Rural Radio Network National FFA Convention coverage made possible with support from the Nebraska FFA Foundation and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
