48 national FFA award winners will depart for ten days in Costa Rica this summer.   The trip will educate participants about the global agricultural industry and the opportunities and challenges of international trade.  The country offers some of the most diverse agriculture and geography in the world, while being small enough to all students to gain a complete ag experience.

Seminar participants were selected from national agricultural proficiency award finalists and American Star Farmer and Star in Agribusiness finalists named last October at the 87th National FFA Convention & Expo in Louisville, Ky. The seminar, in addition to cash awards and plaques, is made possible by business and industry contributions to the National FFA Foundation.

Through June 18, participants will visit Dole’s Costa Rican banana farm, the Corsicana pineapple plantation, several of the country’s large and small production farms, a Starbucks coffee plantation, a forest biological reserve and rainforests. They’ll also be taking in plenty of sights during their trip. FFA members will tour the Costa Rican capital of San Jose, the country’s National Park and a host of popular tourist destinations.

You can follow along with highlights of the trip on the National FFA blog.