Hayden and SOROCO FFA Students Lead National Ag Trip and Leadership Push

Nine students from Hayden and fifteen from SOROCO spent a week in Indianapolis, not just watching pigs, but living the industry. They toured the Platt Show Pigs facility, walked the grounds of Keeneland Race Track, and stood in the shadow of Churchill Downs. It wasn’t a vacation. It was a classroom with no walls.

The Agricultural Education Programs in Routt County just wrapped up a school year defined by scale. We often talk about agriculture here as something that happens on the land, something distant and rustic. But the reality is that these programs are deeply embedded in the civic and economic fabric of the Yampa Valley. They are producing leaders. They are addressing mental health. They are sending kids to the national stage.

Picture this: a group of teenagers from two distinct high school districts, united by a shared curriculum that blends production agriculture with hard-nosed leadership development. That’s what happened this past year. The Hayden and SOROCO Agricultural Education programs didn’t just teach kids how to grow corn or raise cattle. They taught them how to think, how to speak, and how to lead.

This matters because the narrative around rural education often skews toward basic literacy and numeracy. Here, the focus is on premier leadership, personal growth, and career success. The programs have been busy completing their calendars for the upcoming year, already mapping out opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom. They’ve educated elementary students about production agriculture, showing them the different parts of the industry visible in the Yampa Valley. They’ve partnered with the community to highlight the vast opportunities connected to agriculture in Routt County.

But they didn’t ignore the challenges. Mental health has become a staggering challenge for the agriculture community. In March, the Hayden FFA Officer team joined forces with the new Hayden Legacy Leadership program. They didn’t just put up a poster. They provided information across three different platforms to broadcast knowledge about mental health in agriculture. It was a targeted effort to reach students where they actually are.

The national trip to Indianapolis was the capstone. Nine Hayden students and fifteen SOROCO students traveled to participate in the national event. They didn’t just sit in lectures. They engaged with the industry. They cheered on Molly Smith, a SOROCO student, as she represented Colorado in the Extemporaneous Speaking Contest. They watched Hayden FFA earn recognition as being in the top 10 percent of chapters nationwide.

Back home, the momentum continued. The State FFA Convention was a whirlwind of activity. Multiple students were recognized for their supervised agricultural experiences. Emily Rossi competed in the State Prepared Public Speaking contest. The Hayden FFA Quiz Bowl team and the SOROCO Conduct of Chapter Meetings and Parliamentary Procedure teams all made their mark.

Then came the transition of power. The week concluded with the retirement of Molly Smith, a SOROCO graduate and State Executive Committee Member, from her spot on the 2025-2026 State Officer team. In her place, Emily Rossi was elected as the 2026-2027 Colorado FFA State Secretary. It’s a seamless handoff of responsibility, one that ensures continuity in a program that refuses to stand still.

Eric Wellman, an agricultural education teacher in the Hayden School District, notes that both communities have greatly supported the youth. The SOROCO and Hayden Ag Programs want to thank their partners for helping to develop the next generation of leaders for the local region.

It’s easy to dismiss this as extracurricular fluff. It’s not. These are students learning how to manage resources, how to communicate under pressure, and how to navigate a complex industry. They are the future of the valley’s primary economic driver. And they are already running the show.

The sun sets over the Yampa Valley, casting long shadows across the fields that feed these programs. Inside the schools, the calendars are full. The next generation is waiting.