SMSU to Host 15th Annual Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational on Jan. 30

Published Friday, January 23, 2026

The annual AgBowl Scholarship Invitational draws hundreds of FFA students

Southwest Minnesota State University will host the 15th Annual Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational, presented by Ralco Nutrition of Marshall, on Friday, January, 30, 2026. We were very excited to welcome FFA students from across the state back to the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University for this year's invitational.

The Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational is a competition for FFA members to participate in Career Development Events (CDEs). Students can compete individually and as a team. The top scoring 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.

RALCO, along with many other great sponsors, brought 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.

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. Due to the changes in timing for regional and state competitions for Leadership Development Events, we will not be conducting any LDEs this year. Food Science will be limited to eight (8) teams this year.

Career Development Events (CDE) for 2026:

• Ag Education	• Fish & Wildlife	• Meats Evaluation & Technology
• Ag Sales	• Floriculture	• Milk Quality & Products
• Agronomy	• Food Science & Technology	• Nursery Landscape
• Best Informed Greenhand	• Forestry	• Soils
• Companion Animal Science	• Marketing Plan	• Vet Science
• Farm Business Management

The history of AgBowl: In the fall of 2007, Southwest Minnesota State University held the inaugural Ag Bowl to celebrate agriculture in Minnesota. SMSU is proud to call southwestern Minnesota home, where agriculture provides the cultural and economic foundation for the region. Over its history, Ag Bowl and its impact have grown significantly— namely with the addition of the Ag Bowl Scholarship Invitational in 2012 to 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 of 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 of the Scholarship Invitational is to bring more awareness about SMSU and our School of Agriculture to high school students while allowing them 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 to spend their careers growing 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, Kibble Equipment, 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. To register your FFA Chapter, call 1-800-260-0970