Eight Carroll Area FFA chapter members traveled to the National FFA Convention and Expo on October 28-31 and November 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The members attended several tours and participated in various National FFA Convention activities while on the trip. The Carroll Area FFA members that attended the trip were joined on a charter bus with four other area Iowa FFA chapters: Audubon, Harlan, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton, and ACGC.
On Tuesday, October 28, the group traveled to St. Louis, stopping in Williamsburg, Iowa for a tour of the Kinze Manufacturing Plant. The group got to explore the innovation center and museum. The group also stopped in Kalona, IA to visit the Kalona Creamery and tour Brenneman Pork. At Brenneman Pork, the students were able to see the farrowing barns, sow gestation facility, and feed mill. Brenneman Pork raises approximately 1.5 million market hogs annually and has around 54,000 sows in Iowa and Missouri. To end the day, students experienced an outing at “The Darkness” Haunted House in downtown St. Louis. The haunted house is rated as one of the best inthe nation.
Wednesday, October 29 was spent touring in the St. Louis area. The first tour of the day was at the Animal Export Center at the St. Louis International Airport. Students learned about the logistics behind shipping live animals around the world. This facility specializes in livestock transportation. The next tour stop was at the Anheuser-Busch Distillery and Clydesdales. Students were able to see the Clydesdale stables, Clydesdales grooming and care, meet the famous Dalmations and learn about their brewing process from farm commodity to bottling. Students also learned about the rich history of the company and its influence in the St. Louis area and world. The afternoon tour consisted of a full behind the scenes tour of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. They learned about the special Bermuda Turfgrass they use at the facility, the history of the stadium and baseball team, and were able to visit exclusive areas of the stadium like private club areas, the bunker, radio broadcast booth and dugout. The group finished tours in St. Louis with a visit to the Gateway Arch.
On Thursday, October 30, the group spent the entire day in downtown Indianapolis enjoying all the convention opportunities. In the morning, they attended the First General Session of the 98th National FFA Convention in Lucas Oil Stadium. While at the session, members heard reflections from National FFA Officers, music from the National FFA Band and Chorus, and from keynote speaker, A’ric Jackson whose message was to not live in fear and be authentically yourself. The rest of the day was spent at the Indianapolis Convention Center where they enjoyed the Career Show and Expo and leadership workshops of their choice. The expo hosted over 400 different agricultural companies and colleges from across the country. In the evening, the group attended an outing to the Three Hills Rodeo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Two Carroll Area FFA chapter members, Madeline Lenz and Owen Pietig, were awarded the 2025 American FFA Degree on Saturday, November 1. The American FFA Degree is the highest degree possible in the National FFA Organization and is presented to a fraction of membership each year. Chapter member Laura Steinkamp attended the national convention in her role as the 2025-26 Southwest State Vice President and served as a national delegate along with the other Iowa FFA State Officer Team. The chapter was also given a three-star National Chapter Award during the Second General Session for their accomplishments in chapter event planning and implementation.
Close to 75,000 FFA members and guests from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands attended the convention over the few days, making this a record year for attendance. The convention is the largest national student convention held annually. The National FFA Organization membership has also reached a record high, topping 1 million members.