As reported in the April 10, 1951 edition of The JTAC, 2000 FFA Judges came to Tarleton State University to participate in the annual Tri-Area Judging Contest. At the time of the event, the contest was the largest of its kind in the United States.

The tradition of Tarleton hosting FFA and agricultural events has not ceased in the past 68 years. In the Spring 2018 Semester, Tarleton hosted 5,000 contestants for FFA Career Development Events. Later that same semester, Tarleton hosted another FFA event which had 1,250 FFA members gather from across the state to compete FFA State Career Development Events.

“Tarleton hosts several state FFA contests because of our state and national reputation in dairy cattle, milk quality, home site, land and range,” said Steve Damron, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in a Tarleton press release. “We also have taken the initiative to develop state-level contests in other areas, such as environmental science and natural resource management. We are proud to host these events, proud of the quality of our contests and deeply appreciative of the extraordinary faculty and staff conducting these events.”