Merced-Golden Valley won the California FFA State Career Development contest in Agricultural Sales. They received four scenarios with potential customers as judges watched how the students interact while discussing their sales strategies. The judges then acted as a sales manager listening to each team member’s sales pitch while asking questions. The final component of the competition is each student has an individual sales interview with a prospective customer.
The product for the Agricultural Sales contest in California was the Department of Motor Vehicles Special Interest License Plate which supports California Agriculture (Cal Ag Plate). The students developed multiple flyers, one of which showed a graph that 85% of fees go to California FFA.
According to Cody Jacobsen, coach of the State Champion team, the best coaching comes from past team members including Josh Heupel, an American Star Farmer Finalist, who assisted with the Merced Golden Valley team. Cody calls Josh his “Assistant Coach.” Cody Jacobsen, an agriculture teacher for the Ag Sales team, says the team is practicing three days a week and honing their skills in preparation for the National Competition.
Congratulations to Merced-Golden Valley and California FFA teams competing in National contests. Thank you to Cody Jacobsen and agriculture instructors across the state for preparing your students with life skills development.
