Gabe Lassila and John Schmidt (standing) advise Moorhead High School’s FFA chapter. Timmy Kreps (front) is one of more than a dozen competing in contests this year. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)
Moorhead High’s FFA chapter is competing in six regional contests this year, with several teams qualifying for state competition.
Moorhead FFA members Abigail Partridge and Lorelai Stalberger placed fourth in NDSU’s Little I competition in February — the first time for the chapter.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
“CDEs – career development events – are a big part of FFA,” he explains. “They’re a chance for members to not only show off their knowledge of a wide spectrum of topics, from horticulture to horses. They offer a crucible for developing real-world career skills, including communication, leadership and personal growth.”
Moorhead FFA Chapter Officers
President Owen Borud
Vice President Lorelai Stalberger
Secretary Timmy Kreps
Treasurer Croix Mongeau
Reporter Jack Stalberger
Sentinel (Greeter) Jameson Dombeck
Moorhead High School’s FFA chapter is still in its fledgling years … but members are polishing their skills with increasing success at competitions.
Testing their communication and leadership skills is a big part of the national organization, says MHS agriculture instructor Gabe Lassila, who advises the chapter along with fellow instructor John Schmidt.
Moorhead’s members took part in only one contest in 2024-25, the first full school year for the chapter revived in late 2023. “We didn’t qualify,” he notes. (Qualifying enables teams to go on to state competition.)
This year, Moorhead teams of teens are competing in a total of six, including CDEs in Barnesville, Crookston, Detroit Lakes and Thief River Falls, as well as North Dakota State University’s 100th annual Little International Livestock Show. More than a dozen of the local chapter’s members have taken part in each.
Little I, held last month, included contests in which teams of FFA and 4-H members showed off their knowledge of all kinds of ag-related topics. It marked the local chapter’s first big win, with Abigail Partridge and Lorelai Stalberger scoring fourth in hippology, the science of horse care and management. With three more events left to go, local teams have also ranked fifth in livestock judging so far.
“CDEs – career development events – are a big part of FFA,” he explains. They’re a chance for members to not only show off their knowledge of a wide spectrum of topics, from horticulture to horses. They offer a crucible for developing real-world career skills, including communication, leadership and personal growth.
The focus on leadership and communication skills is key to the modern FFA. Schmidt explains that the national organization changed its name from “Future Farmers of America” to its former abbreviation, FFA, in 1988: “Agriculture has become lots more than farming. It includes careers in science, business, natural resources and technology.” One category of competition, for example, centers on salesmanship. Competitors are judged on salesmanship and product knowledge.
Other contests include milk quality and food science, ag mechanics, welding, crops and animal judging. The latter includes categories from large to small – from horses and cattle to small pet-type creatures and poultry.
The last one is member Timmy Kreps’ specialty. Timmy’s FFA focus includes the flocks of chickens he’s raised for several years on his family’s farm north of Moorhead.
“I’m happy that ag at our high school goes a lot farther than farming,” he observes. “A lot of kids and families get everything at the store, and don’t think any more about it. But that’s not where things come from. Farms are where most everything starts, whether they’re big corporations or family operations.
“If our FFA can get that message out, we’re getting somewhere.”
Adds Lassila, “Ag is the root of everything. Everything ties back to agriculture, even in cities like Fargo-Moorhead that seem far from the farm.”
Leadership training plays a big part in preparing FFA members for that wealth of ag-related careers – as many as 300, according to the national organization. In addition to Timmy, who serves as secretary, this year’s officers include president Owen Borud, vice president Lorelai Stalberger, treasurer Croix Mongeau, reporter Jack Stalberger, and sentinel (greeter) Jameson Dombeck.
The FFA experience, says Lassila, can be useful in any professions that require leadership. “The ability to talk to people and communicate clearly is critical in all kinds of fields,” he points out. “FFA teaches you how to do those things – to bust out of our shell. That’s something you don’t always get in the classroom or sports.”
Membership in Moorhead FFA is open throughout the year. For more information, contact Lassila or Schmidt.
