PSVIII-18 Nebraska State Livestock Management Career Development Event includes animal welfare in 2025.

Abstract The National Future Farmers of America Organization (FFA) was founded in 1928 to transform lives and equip youth with skills needed for leadership, personal development, and career achievement through hands-on agricultural education. Leadership and Career Development Events (LDE/CDE) challenge students to build critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills while promoting ethical competition and individual achievement. The Livestock Management CDE has historically given students the opportunity to develop and showcase knowledge in topics such as nutrition, reproduction, herd health, and business management. During the 2025 Nebraska State FFA Convention, 276 students participated in the Livestock Management CDE which included an animal behavior and welfare station for the first time in the history of the event. Traditionally, students rotate through stations that include a specific topic (such as nutrition, economics, etc.) for six species – beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, and equine. The focus of the poultry station in 2025 was animal behavior and welfare, and the inclusion of general biosecurity knowledge and the implications of biosecurity practices for bird health and welfare offered timely and relevant content in a period of heightened concern related to Avian Influenza in the U.S. Our objectives were to 1) provide resources to assist with preparation for the 2025 FFA Livestock Management CDE that included general animal husbandry knowledge of poultry management and 2) to evaluate the level of understanding students have of topics relating to animal welfare. To encourage students to synthesize information for the purpose of decision-making, a resource document was provided which included poultry health, welfare, and management practices. Based on information in the resource document, a hands-on activity was developed that required students to compare the welfare of poultry in two systems. For laying hens, students assessed signs of illness, assigned gait scores, evaluated biosecurity measures, and compared two hypothetical poultry production facilities to determine which offered better welfare. Of 276 participants, 87% (n=241) correctly identified severely lame birds (gait score 5) and 80% (n=220) correctly identified which hypothetical system offered better welfare. The CDE provides students with exposure to concepts necessary to be competitive in collegiate level competitions. Through hands-on activities in the CDE, we were able to assess youth understanding of current poultry welfare topics and gain insight about topics where more emphasis might be valuable in preparing youth for diverse careers that contribute to resilient communities.