Marshall, Minn. — Southwest Minnesota State University will host the 12th Annual Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational, presented by Ralco Nutrition of Marshall, on Friday, February 3, 2023. SMSU will welcome close to 1,000 FFA students from across the state back to the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University for this year’s invitational.

The schedule begins with registration at 7:30-8:15 am in the SMSU Recreational Athletic (RA) Facility with a short welcome program at 8:15-8:30 am. The competition begins at 8:30 am. and continues through 12:00 pm. Results Tabulation to follow with awards presented at approximately 1:30 pm. All participants must be in grades 7-12 and Career Development Events (CDE) are formatted to Minnesota Rules. Professional dress is suggested for all participants and will be required for any CDE in a presentation format. CDE topics include:

  • Ag Issues -Team event
  • Employment SkillsMeats (Identification Only)
  • Ag Sales
  • Extemporaneous Public Speaking
  • Milk Quality
  • Best Informed Greenhand
  • Farm Business Management
  • Parliamentary Procedure – Team event
  • Conduct of Chapter Meetings- Team event
  • Fish & Wildlife
  • Prepared Public Speaking
  • Creed Speaking
  • Floriculture
  • Small Animal Veterinary Science
  • Crops
  • Forestry
  • Soils

The history of AgBowl: In the fall of 2007, Southwest Minnesota State University held the inaugural Ag Bowl as a way to celebrate agriculture in Minnesota. SMSU is proud to be located in southwest Minnesota, where agriculture provides the cultural and economic foundation for the region. Over its 13 years, Ag Bowl and its impact has grown significantly – namely with the addition of the Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational in 2012 to greater expose FFA members to the agriculture academic opportunities available at SMSU.

The Ag Bowl Scholarship Invite is a competition for FFA members to participate in FFA-certified Career Development Events (CDEs). Students can compete individually and as a team. The top FFA chapter will receive $500, the second-place chapter will receive $300, and a randomly selected chapter will receive $200. In team competition, each member of the first-place team will be awarded $500 in scholarship dollars and each member on the second-place team will receive $250 in scholarship dollars to SMSU. Individual CDE winners will receive scholarship dollars to SMSU: $500 to first-place winners and $250 to second-place winners.

The goal is to bring more awareness to high school students through this invitational, while giving them the opportunity to challenge themselves in several different CDEs. Proceeds from Ag Bowl and the Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational help to fund scholarships and programming to SMSU students and young people who dedicate their careers to business success in agriculture, environmental science, and the food industries. SMSU’s educational programs in agriculture, environmental science, and food arts & sciences develop young people who spend their careers working to grow the economic success of the agricultural industry.

In addition to the title sponsor, Ralco Nutrition of Marshall, this year’s sponsors include: AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Lyon County Corn & Soybean Growers, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, and the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council.

For information on the Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational, contact the SMSU Foundation at  agbowlsi@smsu.edu or (507)537-6266.