FARGO, N.D. — For 50 years, the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse at North Dakota State University was the place where a sea of blue corduroy jackets would gather during the general sessions of the North Dakota FFA convention. But the North Dakota State FFA Convention moved to a new home for its 2025 event.
The gathering place for the general sessions at the convention, held June 2-5, instead was the Sanford Athletic Complex, where there is more space to accommodate larger crowds. The convention featured a talent show, event competitions, award ceremonies state officer selection, networking and social events, personal development seminars, and a variety of events aimed at providing information about agriculture and careers.
“We're excited mostly about that move, and really grateful for the opportunity to continue our upward trajectory here on campus at NDSU,” said Laiken DeMorrett, North Dakota FFA Foundation executive director.
Prior to making the decision to move into the Sanford Athletic Complex, DeMorrett wanted to make sure that growth of the state convention was sustained. Last year the largest general session was over 1,800 people, and the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse had reached capacity. Besides safety being a concern when it came to hosting that large of a crowd in the fieldhouse, DeMorrett and her colleagues also saw the move as a way to improve the state convention experience.
“We wanted to really provide an opportunity to up level and really enhance the user experience here at the State Convention,” she said. “I’m really proud of North Dakota FFA and especially of the ag teachers, because they really are the ones who make this event move … I'm just so proud of all of them for getting us this far.”
DeMorrett looks for continued growth when it comes to North Dakota FFA. In 2027, the National FFA organization will be moving to an affiliation model, which means any student who is involved in agricultural education will automatically be an FFA member. Now, they opt into that opportunity. DeMorrett said there are also middle school programs being added as well as new programs.
Besides all this growth in North Dakota’s FFA landscape, ag teachers are still a dwindling resource in the state.
“So growth, yes, but our caveat is we need really good teachers, and that continues to be the challenge, is finding those ag teachers who are interested in agricultural education,” DeMorrett said.