FFA Next Gen Conference Visits Chicago in June
Published: Friday, July 10, 2026
The National FFA Organization, the nation's premier school-based student leadership organization with over one million members, recently hosted its second Next Gen Conference of the year in Chicago from June 23-27.
Next Gen Conferences provide FFA student members with a look into career opportunities within the agriculture industry. The June conference brought together 75 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to learn more about the value of agribusiness systems through informational sessions, panel discussions and tours.
The Next Gen Conference: Agribusines Systems tour locations in Chicago included Invenergy and Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.
Each tour stop was carefully planned to provide a learning experience for the student attendees. In addition to tour locations, students had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with CHS, CNH Industrial and GrowMark.
"Over the decades, the business of agriculture has evolved beyond the traditional farming landscape," said Ashli Weinrich, Program Specialist, Advocacy, Literacy & Ag Based Experiences, Programs and Events Division, National FFA Organization. "Hosting our Next Gen Conference in Chicago gives our members the opportunity to explore what agriculture looks like in a non-traditional landscape."
The 75 students selected to participate were chosen from a competitive applicant pool. Students were asked to share about their Supervised Agricultural Experience, the work-based learning portion of agricultural education that applies concepts learned in the classroom to internships or entrepreneurship. Supervised Agricultural Experiences of students who attended the conference included small business operations, marketing, farm management and more.
The high school students were selected from Indiana to attend the conference: Zoe Haemmerle, Connor Lawrence, Bailey Anderson, Marcus Riecken, and Thomas Scates.
Next Gen Conferences take place three times this year in different states, each aimed at preparing the next generation of leaders who will feed, fuel, clothe, and sustain the world through educational and career ex-ploration opportunities. The next conference will take place in September in Kansas City, Mo. and will be focused on animal systems.
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