New York Mills FFA earns fourth in state nursery, landscaping competition
Thirty-five New York Mills FFA members went to state, and the nursery and landscaping team brought home fourth place on the Twin Cities stage.
Thirty-five New York Mills FFA members turned a trip to the Twin Cities into a statewide showing, and the chapter’s Nursery and Landscaping team came home with fourth place in Minnesota, enough to earn a spot on stage.
The New York Mills chapter represented its school and community in multiple competitions at the 2026 Minnesota FFA State Convention, the 97th annual gathering. Minnesota FFA said the April 20-21 convention drew more than 6,000 FFA members and guests to the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities campuses and the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for general sessions, competitive events, educational tours, leadership workshops and college visits.
For Otter Tail County, the result points to more than one team score. FFA is an intra-curricular student organization for students interested in agriculture and leadership, and Minnesota FFA says its programs are built around premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. That makes a fourth-place finish in nursery and landscaping a meaningful marker for a program that is preparing students for work in fields that remain central to rural communities, from nursery operations and landscaping businesses to farm-related service jobs and ag management.
The size of the New York Mills delegation also stood out. Students including Tucker Henderson, Amanda Sommers, Sarah Downhour, Jordan Gusa, Olivia Olson and Brianna Bischof were part of a chapter presence large enough to show how much of the program is active at once, not just in one classroom or one competition. In a county where agriculture still anchors the local economy, that kind of participation matters because it ties school learning to the careers young people are most likely to see close to home.
New York Mills also has another piece of agricultural infrastructure in town: the University of Minnesota Extension’s East Otter Tail County office at 118 North Main. That local connection mirrors what the state convention is designed to do, linking students with colleges, adult supporters, industry representatives and broader career pathways. For New York Mills FFA, the convention was both a competition and a public reminder that rural leadership is being built one student at a time.
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