2026 Georgia FFA Dairy SAE Winners

A Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project is a hands-on learning experience that allows members of National FFA Organization to apply the agricultural skills and knowledge they learn in the classroom to real-world situations. SAE projects can involve entrepreneurship, placement, research, school-based enterprises, or service-learning activities in many areas of agriculture. Areas include animal science, plant science, agribusiness, environmental management, and more.

These projects help students develop responsibility, leadership, problem-solving, and career skills while gaining practical experience in the agricultural industry. SAE programs are an important part of agricultural education because they encourage students to explore career interests, set goals, maintain records, and build connections within their communities and the agriculture field.

Georgia FFA offers SAEs in Dairy Production - Placement and Dairy Production - Entrepreneurship. In placement SAEs, students work for a dairy farm or dairy agribusiness as an employee. They may gain experience in tasks such as feeding and caring for cattle, milking procedures, herd health management, and any day to day dairy farm related tasks. In an entrepreneurship SAE, students own or manage their own dairy-related enterprise, which may include raising dairy heifers, managing milk production, or selling dairy products for profit. These projects help students build responsibility, work ethic, animal care knowledge, and business management skills while preparing them for future careers in the dairy and agricultural industries.

2026 Dairy SAE results:

Dairy Production – Entrepreneurship

1st - Ava Smith (Gilmer County)

2nd - Maggie Hall (Lee County)

3rd - Zadie Broome (Habersham Central)

Dairy Production - Placement

1st - Nathan Smith (Troup County)

2nd - Nevaeh Chappelear (Hart County)

3rd - Noah Jones (Lee County)

Georgia Dairy Youth Foundation is proud to support dairy SAEs as they give students real world experience within the dairy industry. Congratulations to these winners, and good luck competing at the national level.