More than 400 Future Farmers of America (FFA) high school students from 36 schools in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin gathered on the Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Calmar campus this week for the annual Tri-State Ag and Dairy Expo. Hosted at Iowa’s Dairy Center on Sept. 15, the event offered attendees hands-on competitive learning, agricultural technology demonstrations and crucial safety training.
Throughout the morning, students participated in dairy product evaluation, livestock judging and educational workshops designed to expand their knowledge of modern agricultural practices and career paths. The event concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing top individual and team performances across multiple divisions.
Highlights of the day included live, hands-on learning stations positioned around Iowa’s Dairy
Center:
● Agricultural Safety Demonstrations: Led by Dan Neenan of the National Education
Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS)—the nation’s only agricultural safety center,
located on the Peosta campus—students observed grain bin rescue demonstrations that
emphasized safety protocols and emergency response tactics.
● Dairy Records Management Systems (DRMS): DRMS hosted a session on evaluating
data and making management decisions on modern dairy operations.
● Dairy Innovation & Careers: Interactive educational sessions led by industry
professionals covered robotics in dairy farming, product judging seminars and career
pathways in the agricultural sector.
“Northeast Iowa Community College and the Northeast Iowa Dairy & Agriculture Foundation had
the privilege to host FFA chapters at Iowa’s Dairy Center for judging competitions and
educational seminars,” said NICC Agriculture Instructor Dave Lawstuen. “This event has been
held for over 35 years and has included many of today’s stars in the agriculture industry. The
FFA students participating today are tomorrow’s leaders and we are proud to participate in
developing their leadership, communication and critical thinking skills.”
The event was made possible through collaboration between NICC, the Northeast Iowa Dairy &
Agriculture Foundation and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
