South Dakota State FFA Convention begins tomorrow with different days, different location than past years

The 96th annual South Dakota State FFA Convention will be held tomorrow through Saturday (April 18-20, 2024) in Brookings.

The convention has traditionally been held from a Sunday through a Tuesday, but State FFA Reporter Gabrielle Rebelein says a scheduling conflict forced the change this year.

Rebelein says while the sessions and activities will take place on the east side of town– in the former Swiftel Center– competitions will still take place on the South Dakota State University campus.

Rebelein says the state officer team is revolving their retiring addresses around this year’s convention theme which is “Break Through.” She’ll give her retiring address Saturday morning and plans to share a message about being okay with being uncomfortable.

Rebelein says South Dakota currently has more than 6000 FFA members from 111 different chapters. She is a member of the Sioux Valley FFA Chapter. She currently attends school at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

Those who can’t attend the convention in person are able to watch many of the events via livestream.

Hear more from Rebelein in the DRG Media Group Beyond the Mic podcast titled “Agriculture In-depth 2024 South Dakota State FFA Convention.”