California State FFA Finals Competition at Cal Poly

Each year, thousands of students from throughout the state come to Cal Poly’s campus for the annual State FFA Finals, thanks to a longstanding partnership with the California FFA Association. This year’s competition on May 3 welcomed more than 2,000 students from 170 high schools for the culminating event which sends top teams to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana this November.

CAFES students, faculty and staff facilitate every aspect of the event, where competitions range from agricultural communication media plans to livestock judging, land evaluation, vegetable crop judging and more. Third-year agricultural science major Annika Wharton served as general chair for the event, overseeing student sub chairs for each competition. Awards were organized by fourth-year agricultural communication major David Lopez and fourth-year agricultural science major Audrey Herrera. Numerous faculty served as contest advisors and students worked with committee chairs to ensure the event ran smoothly.

Soil Judging Team Fifth in the Nation

The Cal Poly Soil Judging Team took fifth in the nation at the 2025 National Collegiate Soils contest in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The team competed against 26 other collegiate teams. This is the fourth consecutive year the team has placed in the top 10. Fourth-year environmental earth and soil sciences majors Sarah Hoffman took sixth place place overall in the individual contest (out of 106 students) and Cody Cameron placed fourth overall in the alternate individual event (out of roughly 120 students). The team, coached by Assistant Professor Gordon Rees, includes: Nicholas Baham, Mollie Bressler, Cody Cameron, Abby Evans, Sarah Hoffman, Chase King, Kayla Matheson, Nabila Wildman and Gavin Wong.

Agriculture National Graduate Institutional Name Exchange

Interested in attending grad school? If you have a 3.0 GPA or above, you can participate in AG-NGINE (Agriculture National Graduate Institutional Name Exchange), a national initiative for colleges to recruit promising students for graduate programs in agricultural and natural resources and related fields. Current and potential participating colleges of agriculture and related sciences use the database to promote their graduate degree programs, recruitment events and other opportunities related to graduate study. If interested, submit your information today. This submission grants AG-NGINE permission to release of your information to other U.S. institutions. There is no cost to participate.

Please note that once the 2025 AG-NGINE database is released to participating institutions this October, the information that you provided cannot be removed from AG-NGINE, as all of the information will have been downloaded to each institution’s graduate student recruiting database by then.

Dairy Products Judging Team National Champions

The Cal Poly Dairy Products Judging Team, coached by Professor Vincent Yeung recently competed at the 101st annual Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest (CDPEC), on April 16 in Madison, Wisconsin. The contest was hosted by Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association and superintended by USDA. Team members judged six categories of dairy products including butter, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, ice cream, milk and yogurt, based on flavor, body/texture and appearance.

With sheer determination and an unmatched obsession for critiquing frozen desserts, Cal Poly won the ice cream team category for the fourth consecutive year, while adding the milk and yogurt categories to the trophy haul. Cal Poly also placed second in the butter category. In the Individual categories, Mika Zeplovitch (food science and nutrition) finished first in milk and yogurt, while Brianne Agresti (animal science) was victorious in Ice-cream.

💥 Highlights:
🥇 1st in All Products Team
🍦 1st in Ice-cream Team (4 years in a row!)
🥛 1st in Milk Team
🍶 1st in Yogurt Team
💪 Big wins from Brianne Agresti and Mika Zeplovitch in individual categories!

Interns needed for Clean Air Ambassadors Program

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD) is seeking college students to participate in our Clean Air Ambassadors Program for the 2025-2026 school year. This is a paid, part-time position with a flexible schedule up to 15 hours per week and $17/hour starting pay. Clean Air Ambassadors will work remotely, occasionally in the District’s Santa Barbara or Santa Maria office, as well as travel to schools throughout Santa Barbara County.

Clean Air Ambassadors will gain valuable teaching experience by educating elementary-level students about air pollution and ways to help improve air quality. This position will involve co-teaching hands-on, interactive curriculum in elementary school classrooms, soliciting teacher participation by conducting outreach, and assisting with the ongoing development of elementary-level curriculum and engaging activities related to air quality. Applications close Wednesday, May 7.

Please visit the website for more information and email CleanAirAmbassadors@sbcapcd.org with any questions.

Dressage Team Top Five in the Nation

The Cal Poly Dressage Team placed fifth in the nation at the Intercollegiate Dressage Association national competition with second-year animal science major Caroline Kargenian winning reserve champion at lower training level.

Lily-Rose Bacon (biomedical engineering) placed seventh at first level, Kaileen Grace (animal science) placed fourth in upper training, Caroline Kargenian (animal science) placed second in lower training level and Lucas Rupp (materials engineering) placed tenth at introductory level.  The team is coached by Jackie Eckhaus and kinesiology student Makenzie Ford.

SLO Ranch Farms Hiring a Farm Manager

SLO Ranch Farms is seeking a dedicated and experienced Farm Manager to oversee the care of its animals and manage the agricultural operations of the farm. This role is ideal for someone with a strong background in farm management, animal care and overseeing planting seasons for rotating crops and our seasonal attractions like the corn maze and pumpkin patch. The Farm Manager will ensure the health and well-being of our animals and crops while maintaining an organized and productive farm environment.

How to Apply: Please submit your resume detailing your experience with farm management and animal care to jacob@sloranchmarket.com.