CSU-TAPS Engages FFA Students in Farming Experiences

The 2026 CSU-TAPS team from Centauri High School FFA (from left: Mystie Hoyt, FFA advisor and ag teacher; Harper Armstrong; and Lilyana Gutierrez) pictured at the 2026 CSU-TAPS Field Day in July. Photo by Christine Hamilton

CSU-TAPS added FFA high school student teams in 2026, expanding beyond-the-classroom learning opportunities through the farm management competition.

Growing student experiences through growing corn—that’s the result of high school National FFA Organization teams competing in the 2026 CSU-TAPS sprinkler corn farm management competition. The program added Colorado FFA teams for the first time this year, from Centauri High School in La Jara, and Holyoke High School in Holyoke.

The FFA student additions boost CSU-TAPS’ educational impact in exposing young people to precision ag strategies and ag tech, literally taking the classroom into the field.

Harper Armstrong, a Centauri FFA high school student competing in CSU-TAPS, says the biggest benefit she’s getting from CSU-TAPS is “the experience, learning all about the corn and what it needs to grow.”

She added, “I’m most excited [to see] the result we have at the end of it!” The 2026 results will be announced at the CSU-TAPS annual banquet on January 9, 2027.

Harper and teammate Lilyana Gutierrez attended the 2026 CSU-TAPS Field Day on July 23, 2026. The summer field day gives all competitors a chance to visit the farming competition host field and evaluate their crops in person. Teams manage their corn crops through the growing season remotely, accessing field data and logging decisions through an online competition portal. (Read more about the competition format here.)

“Coming [to Field Day] was critical because they got to see the corn they’d been growing and see the results of the decisions they’ve been making,” says Mystie Hoyt, ag teacher and FFA advisor for Centauri High School. “They shared pictures with their teammate who couldn’t come.”

This year’s Field Day also included the TAPS Tech & Partner Showcase, which gave CSU-TAPS ag tech and industry partners a chance to engage with competitors in person.

Hoyt says that “getting to meet the industry people…was critical” for her students.

The CSU-TAPS Tech and Partner Showcase at the 2026 Field Day gave competitors a chance to engage with ag tech partners. The Centauri FFA team spoke with Eric Betschart of AquaSpy about the soil moisture probe their team selected to use in the competition. Photo by CSU College of Ag Sciences Barnfly Production crew

“I have a friend come in to talk to my classes about agronomy, but when they saw all the crops [at CSU ARDEC South Research Farm] and the research, it opened their eyes,” she says. “It brought it home to them and made them see what they could do.”

Funds from the 2026 CSU Emerging Community Engagement Scholarship Award assisted with bringing the Centauri FFA team to the CSU-TAPS Field Day, and with hosting the Holyoke FFA team for a CSU-TAPS field visit and CSU College of Ag Sciences tour on September 29.

Peer learning opportunities and chances to try ag tech and precision farming strategies risk-free are major benefits for all TAPS competitors, from farmers to ag students.

CSU-TAPS has 24 teams competing this year involving 80 participants. Fifteen are on one of the following student teams:

·      CSU Student Team: This team includes undergrad and graduate students in CSU’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and one student from CU-Boulder. The team competed for the first time in 2025, finishing in the top three for input use efficiency in the limited irrigation track.

The Holyoke High School FFA CSU-TAPS team visited the 2026 competition field and toured the CSU College of Agricultural Sciences in September. Pictured from left: Omer Izrael, CSU-TAPS project manager; Shauna Strecker, Holyoke HS ag teacher and FFA advisor; students Jacob Quintana, Kaden Herman, Bodhyn Ring, Riley Powell, Rorey Schneller; Chris Pires, head of CSU Dept. of Soil and Crop Sciences; and Amy Kremen, Irrigation Innovation Consortium associate director. Photo by Christine Hamilton

·      Morgan Community College Team: This team includes students in the STEM program. They’ve competed every year since the first CSU-TAPS competition in 2023.

·      Centauri High School FFA Team: From La Jara, Colorado, in the southern San Luis Valley. The all-freshman team is coached by Mystie Hoyt, their FFA advisor and ag teacher.

·      Holyoke High School FFA Team: From Holyoke in northeastern Colorado, the team is coached by Colorado producer Aaron Powell, a past CSU-TAPS winner.

Learn More

·      If you are interested in competing in a CSU-TAPS competition, complete the CSU-TAPS Interest Form

·      For more about TAPS competitions nationwide: TAPS Network

The Holyoke FFA 2026 CSU-TAPS team visited their plots in person on September 29. Photo by Christine Hamilton

·      Find more about the Irrigation Innovation Consortium’s TAPS-related projects

Article by Christine Hamilton