California FFA is proud to announce the 2025 winners of the prestigious State Star Awards. Winners were announced at the closing session of the 97th State FFA Leadership Conference on April 6 in Sacramento.
The State Star Awards are designed to recognize exceptional FFA members who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs). SAEs, which have been a part of agricultural education since 1917, offer students an individualized application of the career and life skills taught in agricultural education courses beyond scheduled class time.
After an extensive application process, finalists demonstrating outstanding management abilities in production, agribusiness, agricultural placement, and agriscience were selected in each of the six regions. These FFA members represent the best of the best, exhibiting excellence in all aspects of their agricultural endeavors, demonstrating strong leadership skills, and participating in their local FFA chapter. California FFA is proud to announce this year’s winners:
Star Farmer: The Star Farmer Award recognizes an FFA member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in an entrepreneurial production agriculture SAE. This award celebrates those who have exhibited excellence in agricultural production, finance, and management while maintaining active involvement in FFA. This year’s Star Farmer is Peyton Wood from Yreka FFA. Wood owns and operates a registered cow/calf operation as well as numerous market projects in beef, sheep, and poultry in Siskiyou County. Wood has developed production techniques to maximize livestock quality and efficiency through breeding, nutrition, pasture management, maintenance of breed association records, and marketing her registered breeding animals and finished market projects.
Star in Agribusiness: The Star in Agribusiness Award honors a student for exceptional achievement in an entrepreneurial agribusiness SAE. This award is presented to individuals who focus on agricultural sales, services, or other entrepreneurial endeavors. Whether through sales, service, or innovation, the recipient must demonstrate outstanding business acumen and leadership. The 2025 Star in Agribusiness Award goes to Adrian Sanchez from Madera FFA, who has excelled in his fabrication business, where he designs and builds custom orders for customers all over the state. Through his SAE, Sanchez has successfully developed and managed all aspects of his business, including working with customers, financial record-keeping, ordering supplies, and designing and building projects.
Star in Agricultural Placement: The Star in Agricultural Placement Award celebrates a student who has excelled in an employment-based SAE, including work-based learning opportunities. The awardee should gain real-world experience throughout his or her SAE, all while contributing to the greater agricultural workforce. The 2025 recipient of the Star in Agricultural Placement Award is Alden Hansard from Atwater FFA. Hansard started working at Cal Farm in 2020 as a part-time mechanic and salesman, where he was responsible for inspecting equipment and ordering parts. In 2022, he joined Diamond J Custom Farming as a repair mechanic, servicing and restoring farm equipment. Through his employment, Hansard has gained invaluable skills and work ethic through his daily duties of maintaining tractors and trucks, troubleshooting issues, and ordering parts.
Star in Agriscience Award: The Star in Agriscience Award recognizes an FFA member whose SAE is focused on advancing agricultural science, research, and innovation. This award is designed for students who apply their curiosity to solve problems and answer questions within the agricultural industry. The 2025 Star in Agriscience Award goes to Salyn Meas from Lakeside-El Capitan FFA. Throughout her FFA career, Meas has successfully completed four agriscience projects, each contributing to groundbreaking research. Through each experiment, she has demonstrated a passion for scientific exploration in agriculture, furthering the impact of innovation and student research.
