Mastering CDE Practices: A Step-by-Step Guide for Agriculture Teachers
Coaching Career Development Events (CDEs) is a cornerstone of every FFA chapter. I distinctly remember my first time taking a load of kids on a 2+ hour drive to a dairy evaluation competition where we placed second to last and yet it was magical.
I can remember the triumphs and the defeats and know with my whole heart that regardless of the final placing it was a beneficial experience for my students.
These events are where students take what they’ve learned in the classroom, apply it to real-world scenarios, and compete with peers across the nation. With 26 nationally recognized CDEs (and even more at the state level), it’s no wonder teachers feel the pressure to deliver high-quality coaching experiences.
But let’s be real: no one can be an expert in everything.
But what we know here at G&G is that you want to provide opportunities to a wide variety of students with varying interests even if you truly cannot tell a lame horse from a world champion.
And while we can’t give you all the content to make you masters at all the CDEs. We can help you create a repeatable process for all of your CDE practices regardless of content area.
(Note: You can grab a Germinate Hall of Fame session from experts in Ag Sales, Horse Judging, Parli Pro and Poultry Judging over on the resources page)
That’s where our CDE Coaching Guide comes in. This guide is designed to simplify practice planning and help teachers focus on what really matters—supporting students—this guide offers a repeatable structure for every type of CDE. Whether you’re an experienced teacher looking for a refresh or a newbie wondering where to start, this resource is here to help.
In the past 7 years of serving agriculture teachers we’ve heard it all from teachers:
How do I even begin coaching a contest I’ve never competed in?
How do I get students to take ownership of their learning?
How do I juggle multiple teams practicing at the same time?
Spring is often peak CDE season (which is RIGHT around the corner), and with schedules packed tighter than a freshly baled haystack, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why we’re all about working smarter, not harder. The CDE Coaching Guide gives you a solid foundation to run consistent, effective practices without reinventing the wheel every time.
What’s Inside the Guide?
Our guide is packed with practical tips, structured practice outlines, and bonus resources to streamline your coaching. Here’s a sneak peek:
Practice Outline
A repeatable structure for 90-minute practices (with suggestions for shorter sessions):
1. Teaching Time (15-20 minutes): Introduce or review key contest materials.
2. Individual/Partner Study (15 minutes): Let students dive into one specific area—like specimen ID or test prep—to keep their learning focused.
3. Quick Review Game (10 minutes): Reinforce learning with fun, competitive activities like trash can basketball.
4. More Teaching Time (15-20 minutes): Move on to the next topic or contest section.
5. Wrap-Up (5 minutes): Assign quizzes or study tasks to prep for the next practice.
We even added some bonus resources to the guide…
- An attendance sheet to track student performance.
- A practice outline slide with a timer, so everyone stays on track.
This format is flexible and can be adapted for contests with multiple components, like Floriculture or Livestock Judging.
The key? Focus on one or two areas per practice to avoid overwhelming your students (or yourself).
Now, I know you can grab that CDE Coaching Guide and start using it to format your practices to be fun, easy to plan for and effective. But we aren’t going to leave you with that. With 54 years of combined experience we compiled out G&G Team Pro Tips for CDE Success.
👥Tap into your network: Find someone with experience in your contest area and ask for advice.
🔀Alternate strategies: Always have backup team members ready to step in.
📊Analyze data: Use practice test results to focus on weak areas instead of re-teaching what students already know.
🧑🏫Learn together: If you’re unfamiliar with a contest, make it a competition between you and the students—it’s a great way to model growth mindset.
We know every teacher’s situation is different, so we’ve addressed some common questions that you might be asking yourself as you read this…
How do I structure practices when student schedules don’t align?
Use our flexible format and encourage independent work outside of practice. Utilize your learning management systems to assign practice work throughout the week so students can practice when they have time.
How do I get students to show up prepared?
Assign pre-work, like quizzes or readings, so practice time is focused on coaching, not catch-up.
So are you ready to elevate your CDE practices?
Coaching CDE teams doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the CDE Coaching Guide in your toolkit, you can streamline practices, focus on what truly matters, and help your students excel. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this guide is designed to take the stress out of planning and bring consistency to your coaching.
Looking for even more support? Join us at our Marigold Meetups, where ag teachers from across the country connect, collaborate, and grow together. These free monthly events are the perfect space to share ideas, ask questions, and gain inspiration.
If you feel like your CDE practices are rocking and rolling and you need more help in the other areas of the three circle model (SAE and Classroom Instruction) don’t forget to explore the other free and paid resources on our website!
3 Practical Tips for Agriculture Teachers to Actually Rest Over Winter Break
Let us start off by saying, you did it. You are halfway through the school year (or almost halfway). That is a huge accomplishment.
You made it through the start of school, FFA recruitment, that pesky first field trip, your first competitions, probably a fruit fundraiser, and maybe even National Convention. Phew, that is a lot and I didn’t even mention your class load and teaching hundreds of students daily.
You are doing it and it is almost time for a well-deserved break.
And when we say break, we mean it. Like actually shutting the work computer, locking the classroom door and saying goodbye until the new year.
If you are shaking in your Hey Dudes just thinking about the prospect of leaving work behind for a week or more, this blog is FOR YOU.
You, my friend, deserve a break. And to be honest, I think you know that. You know you work hard, you know you put your heart and soul into your job day in and day out. But, the thought of truly stepping away seems daunting, why?
The never-ending to-do list
The looooong list of activities that start up in early January
The competition teams that need practicing
The shop/greenhouse that needs cleaning
We get it. We have all been there or are staring at the same long list of to-do’s with you.
What we have learned over the years is that taking a break doesn’t actually put you behind. A break gives you the fuel to move forward faster.
You’ve probably heard an example like this before. You are like a car, the more you drive the car the less the fuel you have and the more wear and tear on the engine. To keep the car moving you have to frequently add gas and periodically take it in for servicing like a oil change, tire rotation or balance. You cannot just drive the car over and over and over again without frequent and periodic maintenance.
The same is true for you. You must provide yourself with frequent maintenance, that is like getting good sleep, eating enough, and doing daily/weekly activities that you enjoy (that aren’t work related). And then periodically, you gotta stop moving, stop that forward progress, and take a little bit to get re-energized.
You taking this break and deciding to put the work down and do things you love and enjoy with your family and friends is well deserved and NEEDED so you can continue to thrive (and survive) in the new year.
Now, this wouldn’t be a helpful blog if it was just motivational and gave you no tips to actually achieve this. So here are our 3 Tips to ACTUALLY Rest this Winter Break
3 Ways to ACTUALLY Rest this Winter Break
1. Don’t Reinvent The Wheel Before Break
Holiday break is right around the corner. Now is not the time to shake things up and rewrite your curriculum, try too many new activities and put a lot more on your already full plate. Some of you may be winding down the semester and some of you will be in January. There is no need to pull out so many bells and whistles just because break is around the corner.
That doesn’t mean we suggest watching Elf on repeat citing that it is an agriculture movie just because of Mr. Narwhal.
We mean that you can just stay the course. Keep teaching what your curriculum plan has scheduled up until the final bell. You don’t have to make your curriculum cutest just because of the holidays.
We also think this is a great time to use your resources. There is a plethora of free resources out on the internet that could provide some spice to your lessons if you so choose.
At G&G we are happy to provide you with free resources for the three-circle model of agriculture education. Here are some that might be helpful as you wind down 2024 and step into 2025:
Classroom Instruction
Holiday Hazards – I recently got a new kitten and navigating the holiday decorations this year is quite a challenge. We want to keep her safe! If you have a small animal or veterinary science class it might be fun to let your students explore the hazards of the holidays. Use this simple resource to get your kids going.
One Word – The start of the new year is a great opportunity to set some goals. With this One Word resource, students create pennants with their chosen words for the year (or semester). This activity doubles as classroom decor. Win-win!
SAE
Teacher Conference – You are about halfway through the school year. Have you checked in on those Supervised Agricultural Experiences you assigned the kids back in September? Now is a great time! Set aside a day to have a 1 on 1 meeting with each student using the Teacher Conference resource.
FFA
It’s ALWAYS a good time to open up the FFA New Horizon magazine and teacher guide for some activities. The Fall/Winter 2024 edition has SIX different activities including downloadable Google Docs.
2. Don’t Bring Work Home
I vividly remember my Walmart Pink milk crate that I lugged interactive science notebooks home over breaks. She went into my trunk and most of the time never saw the light of day until I went back to school.
Now you might be thinking, well you didn’t actually do work!
While that is right, do you know what is in the back of my mind the entire break?
I should go get those notebooks and grade instead of watching football with my husband
I should go do some work instead of watching the kids play in the backyard
I should probably try and get ahead before this break is over
And that overthinking and worrying is WORSE in my opinion than just setting aside work for a few weeks and being fully present during the break.
I know some of you reading this are ADAMANTLY opposed to this opinion, and I get it. As you can tell I was there with you too. And you have the autonomy to do exactly what you want.
From our daily interactions with teachers, we have found that overwhelm, burnout and not enoughness are three of the biggest pain points for teachers in the classroom. And I bet we believe that working over break to get “caught up” is all a good intention.
But, what is the purpose of the break if you aren’t actually breaking from work?!
One thing we know that is absolutely true is that your to-do list will NEVER be done. There is no way to be “all caught up.” That is a myth. To decide that working will get that to-do list done before the new year instead of taking a breath and enjoying time off could be counter productive in exacerbating those feelings of overwhelm and burn out because you are continuing to work non-stop.
If you feel so moved to work over break, one way to step into this gently is to create strict boundaries with yourself. Maybe you only work in the mornings of break or only 2 days during break. And then leave it alone.
Challenge yourself this break to limit the amount of work you bring home or don’t bring it at all. Then when you step into school on January 2nd see how you feel. We hope you feel refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready for the next year.
3. Don’t Schedule School Events/Practices Over the Break
Hate to break it to you friend, but it isn’t just you who needs a break. Those hard working kiddos do too.
Don’t you remember the joy you felt back when you were a student before break? The anticipation waiting for that final bell to ring so you could confidently lock your locker, grab your keys and high tail it out of the student parking lot?
Your kids should be able to feel that too.
Yes, even those who are preparing for a competition in the new year.
Yes, even those who are behind on school work.
Yes, even those who have scholarship dues dates looming around the corner.
Yes, even those student leaders who are motivated to get work done over the break
Allow those students to rest and relax. Not just because they should, but because it will start teaching them a habit I barelyyyyyy feel like I have grasped as a fully functioning adult… the habit of resting.
If you are a high achieving person, you might have trouble resting too. Your brain is hardwired to be moving at all times. Sitting down, taking a load off, doing some things just for funsies makes guilt creep in.
And let’s be honest, that is NOT a healthy way to live. We want to be good role models for our students and this is one space where you can tell those students “no worries, we will pick this up in two weeks.”
Now, if you are reading this and want to implement it but feel like this isn’t the “norm” around you because maybe it wasn’t how your ag teachers operated, how your college professors taught you to treat breaks or the ag teachers around you preach a 24/7/365 career…
We want you to know there ARE agriculture teachers who believe in resting, believe in taking breaks, and indulging in their passions outside of teaching. And you can easily connect with them regularly through Green & Growing Education events.
If you are reading this in real time (December 2024) we would love to invite you to our next Marigold Meetup. It is happening on Monday 12/16 at 8 p.m. EST on Zoom.
We are going to spend some time together as agriculture teachers for Cocoa & Conversations. Time to chat about the school year, what is happening for you over break, and how you intend to rest. You can get the Zoom link sent straight to you using this link. See you there!
Delegate to Elevate: Unlocking Your Potential with Others
During my first couple of years teaching I ate alone during lunch, I sat by myself at FFA events and felt alone singing “All by myself, Don't wanna be, All by myself anymore”
I was working myself to the bone trying to make all the things happen on my own. Why? Because that is how I thought it needed to be done.
How very naive of me!
I’ll be honest it took me a while to realize I didn’t have to feel this way. I didn’t have to feel alone in my classroom, as an advisor, and most specifically with all the tasks on my to-do list.
If you actually did all the work on an Ag Teacher’s plate by yourself I think it would be a 24 hour/7 days a week/365 days a year job with more work to do.
It doesn’t have to be this way if you implement one thing into your career. Asking for help.
But, you might be saying…
What do I even ask for?
What can I even ask for help?
What if people say no?
Those are very valid questions that we have crowdsourced the answers to. Because we get it, asking for help is an acquired taste that a lot of us overachievers hate more than the taste of Vegemite or Robitussin.
In this blog post, we’re sharing three tips that you can use as you start customizing your career by maximizing delegation.
Three Tips to Customizing Your Career by Maximizing Delegation
1️⃣ Just do it
People can say no, and that’s ok.
Make a list of tasks that you have to do. Then categorize them into “I MUST DO” (like purchase orders, field trip forms, or grading) and “THINGS OTHERS CAN DO” (like coaching teams, proofreading proficiencies, dinner reservations for nationals)
Then start asking!
You might find that some of these tasks can be done by your officer team! (ex. Sending thank you cards, making phone calls, managing social media accounts, writing emails)
And maybe even involving young alumni in college who can virtually help! (ex. Coaching CDE teams, judging CDE teams, proofreading applications, big event clean up/take down, recruitment presentations, young alumni guest speakers)
Help doesn’t have to be in person! (ex. CDE coaching/judging, guest speakers, monetary help, officer application judging)
2️⃣Pick your levels of involvement
While some things require more experience and authority, there are plenty of levels of involvement for delegating in the FFA world.
Here are some examples of differing levels of involvement for help!
Low: We all know that food gets kids to show up to everything! So use your local senior citizens at an old folks home to prepare food and beverages for FFA meetings!
We each have those end-of-the-year banquets that require set up and clean up, so get a group of parent supporters to bring their students early and stay after to help. Need a guest speaker who might not be nearby?
Guest speakers can show up to your classrooms “virtually” from anywhere through an online platform like Zoom! The sky is the limit on low-level delegation.
Medium: As you get closer to award application season, use your community and industry professionals or advisory council to proofread papers/award apps, have college students Zoom (for mentorship, or to train teams), in-person guest speakers to motivate your members, send letters for financial or physical sponsorship at a banquet or for an award/scholarship.
High: Don’t coach it yourself, let the expert do it! Have a community coach prepare your CDE or LDE teams. Have someone transport or drive your students to contests/road shows and chaperone overnight trips.
3️⃣Learn from it
When you ask for help and delegate to others it is truly a learning moment.
You might realize that it didn’t work out so well or it knocked your socks off. All of these outcomes from delegating tasks are opportunities for you to learn! That might mean learning how to do the task better or even learning how to delegate more effectively!
Here is the truth: Some people are better at certain things than you. You are not an expert in everything you need to do as an ag teacher. Good news, you don’t have to be!
When you decide to hand over some control to others you might just learn a thing or two from those people. This might look like delegating a CDE team to an expert coach, delegating a guest speaker to teach about a certain topic in your classroom, or delegating copy editing of applications to an English teacher or friend who LOVES writing.
In all of these scenarios, you are attached to the event or outcome of the delegation. You will be present at some CDE practices so you are learning alongside the students, you are listening as the guest speaker teaches your class and you get to review the copy edits of those pesky applications.
As you observe and reflect on those instances you are gaining knowledge in those areas that might have caused you problems in the past. And you will be better for it instead of avoiding that work or hating it the entire time you struggle through it.
It is also important to reflect on your delegation. You need to learn what is worth delegating and what isn’t.
One thing you need to keep in mind while delegating is you must teach the expectations to the people you are delegating to. Yes, that even means if you are delegating to an adult like an industry member, student teacher, or Alumni member. You might realize that some delegated tasks were almost too much work for you to delegate (like how hard it is to sub-plan when you are sick and you tend to just go to school anyway).
Take time to reflect upon those delegated tasks and ask yourself:
“Did this help lighten my load?”
“Did the work get done to a satisfactory level?”
“Would I do this again?”
If the answers are mostly yes then delegate again!
If the answers are mostly no then think about reworking your delegation strategy (maybe change who you delegate to or up your training/expectations for your helper) or decide to delete that activity (if possible)
At the end of the day if you don't know something yet or it is something that others could do just as well as you, delegate and learn!
Don’t Copy What the Premier Chapter Does
In the sprawling landscape of FFA chapters and organizations, it’s easy to feel tempted to mirror the success stories of others, especially those named “Premier Chapters”.
I mean, if something works brilliantly for one chapter it will work perfectly for mine too, right?
But let’s take a step back. What does “Premier Chapter” even mean?
On the national level, it means recognizing the top chapters with innovative activities in each of the three divisions: growing leaders, building communities, and strengthening agriculture.
The top ten chapters in each division get a crystal glass table top National FFA Premier Chapter Award, and among those, one top premier chapter is chosen. Only 3-star chapters are eligible for these premier chapter awards.
Now, what about the chapters that don’t apply for this award? Does that mean they aren’t hitting these high notes? Maybe, maybe not.
Here’s the kicker: an award doesn’t determine your worth as an agriculture teacher or the success of your program.
Enter Nikki Fideldy-Doll. Nikki was a one-woman department in rural North Dakota, and if you know her, you know she’s a powerhouse of wild, awesome ideas! Take this one, for example: she got her students to design stickers for the local fire department. The students printed these stickers and sold them to the community, with profits going right back to the fire department. How cool is that?
Now, imagine implementing this idea in your own chapter. How would it pan out? Think about Jason Ferriera’s chapter with over 900 FFA members. The sheer number of sticker designs could be overwhelming. How would they even pick which designs to sell? And who would do the selling? And what if they don’t even have a relationship with that fire department or the fire department doesn’t need donations? That isn’t going to have the same results.
The point is, it’s not about the number of designs. It’s about the impact this event had on the fire department in her community. This chapter decided to find a need in THEIR community and find a solution to serve them.
Instead of chasing huge numbers or copying and pasting what you see on social media, try focusing on impact for YOUR audience (chapter members, community or the agriculture industry. The more successful chapter isn't the one with the most stickers, fruit sold; it's the one that makes an impact in their community.
Here is another example, let’s talk about Sarah Nerswick’s story—it’s short and sweet. They held a chapter telethon event with only 11 FFA members helping. Those members called and left messages of encouragement to every FFA member in the chapter.
While looking from outside of this event you might be thinking that the number of members might seem small and insignificant. It is more about the impact those 11 members provided the chapter that played a part in getting named a Premier Chapter for Growing Leaders at the national level. A 20-member community service event that shows the power of collaboration can surely be an impactful event. This isn’t about individual efforts but the strength of the group.
If you’re nodding along but wondering, “Cool, but we want to win a National Chapter award but need some good ideas for activities that work for our chapter”, we’ve got just the activity for you to try with your officer team.
Our friend Nikki whipped up this workshop in 2022 and it was a huge hit. This activity helps you brainstorm ideas that can make a big impact in your chapter and community—aka, a recipe for success!
Remember, the National Chapter award focuses on three divisions: growing leaders, strengthening agriculture, and building communities. Each division has quality standards for your chapter to focus on when designing an activity.
Nikki has broken down each standard into its own slide, so you can focus on one activity at a time. Each standard comes with a prompting idea, like a statistic or mystery item, to get those creative juices flowing.
For example, one group used rubber ducks as their mystery item and ended up planning a boat launch cleanup with a “duck pond prize” to incorporate the ducks! Creative, right?
We’ve found this activity works best with a small group for brainstorming. We aren’t saying you need to utilize balloons, rubber ducks or cowboy hats in your events. This is just a strategy to shake things up and get creative thinking outside the box.
Try it with your chapter officers and see what awesome ideas you come up with to help your chapter or community. We’ve provided two versions for you to try—your challenge is to actually incorporate one of these activities into your chapter’s Program of Activities (POA) this year!
Here’s the link to the activity slides!
One thing is clear: there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for success in chapters.
What works for one might not work for another—and that’s totally okay.
Instead of copying the premier chapters, let’s celebrate the uniqueness of our own chapters. By staying true to ourselves, focusing on impact over numbers, and rallying together as a community, we can carve out our own paths to success. So go ahead, you do you, boo boo!
Time to tweak your fundraising messaging
Fundraising gets a bad rap for being pushy and surface level.
We tend to associate fundraising in the AgEd world as meat sticks, wreaths and cookie dough.
In reality, it is so much more.
It’s about opportunity, it’s about impact, it’s about legacy!
The funds you raise give students an opportunity which impacts their lives and can eventually lead to a legacy they build for their families, friends and careers.
And that is the VERY reason we should put more intention and care into our fundraisers!
If you are looking for that intention and care. Here are three quick tips for you to tweak your fundraising messaging.
Be a storyteller
You know what sells? Things that people can buy EMOTIONALLY. How much more likely are you to buy the wreath from the kid who told the story about how the wreath is helping their chapter sponsor a local animal shelter versus the kid who just asks for the sale? Teach the students to tell the story of the fund. Remember you aren’t raising money, you are raising opportunities!
Be specific
Confused people don’t buy! When you are SPECIFIC about your fundraiser, it is easier for people to buy. Be specific about WHAT you are selling, WHERE you are selling it, WHEN they can pick up, and WHY you are selling it (remember to be a story teller). Make sure your students know the answers to all of these questions before selling!
Find your people
Not everyone wants a wreath, not everyone wants a geranium, not everyone wants a meat stick, not everyone wants a donut. AND THAT IS OK. Your job is to FIND the people who DO want it and SHOW UP where they are! Selling meat sticks with a newspaper article might not hit the right audience. Selling the plant sale with posters around the school might not hit the right audience. Dive deep into WHO the RIGHT buyer is, and find out where they show up, and sell there!
Set aside some time before you announce your next fundraiser to think through how you can be a storyteller, be specific and find your people.