Family takes the win at National FFA Convention

ST. CHARLES, Minn. — When the winning team for the Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development Event was announced at the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana, three siblings were part of the team to take the honor.

The St. Charles judging team consists of Brianna Brogan, a senior; Emily Brogan, a junior; and Will Brogan, a freshman. Their parents are Scott and Angie Brogan. The Brogans were joined by Avery DeCook, a junior, who was the fourth member of the team. Her parents are Brent and Rebecca DeCook. Together, the four won top team honors. Their alternate team member was Makenzie Heim, a senior in high school and the daughter of Ehren and April Heim. Coaching the team was the Brogans’ uncle, Keith Brogan, who has been coaching dairy judging for 4-H and FFA for 35 years.

“It’s a memory to share with my siblings,” Brianna said. “We get busy, and we don’t really spend a lot of time together.”

All four of the team members earned gold individual honors. Brianna placed third individually and had the top Jersey class placings.

The team also won the top presentation with a perfect score.

“(That) was really exciting because we put a lot of work into working on the presentation,” Brianna said.

Finding out their final placing happened in two steps: first, they learned they were among the top four at a banquet Oct. 31 on the last night of the convention, and then, they heard the final placings the next morning.

“We had an idea of our team being towards the top, since we were one of the only four teams with all gold for the individuals,” Emily said.

The next day, there was an end to the suspense.

“Their facial expressions … just dropped,” Makenzie said. “They were all just like, ‘No way.’”

Near Makenzie in the crowd was their coach, Keith.

“He was jumping up and down,” she said.

Keith said it was the first time he had attended the national convention for over 30 years. He has had teams compete on the national level before, but this was his only first-place national win.

“They worked hard,” he said. “They’ve dedicated basically the last nine months (to prepare).”

The team said their FFA adviser, Samantha Selness, gave them a list of priorities this fall as they prepared for the national competition.

“She (said), ‘Family goes first and then the farm, and then school, and then dairy judging: no boyfriends,’” Emily said.

Makenzie agreed.

“Nothing else came after those; those were our only four priorities,” she said.

The Brogans are together regularly on the farm. The family milks about 650 cows near St. Charles. Scott and Keith farm alongside their dad, Gerard. The family milks three times a day in a double-12 parallel parlor. The cows are housed in a freestall barn.

Having three members of his judging team all on the farm with him has been handy, Keith said.

“Things would pop in my head out here,” Keith said. “I could go tell them right away, so I wouldn’t forget before practice.”

Makenzie and Avery do not have dairy farm backgrounds, but have embraced learning about dairy.

“(I learned to) stick with things,” Avery said. “When I first started, I was really bad. But a couple of years of practice makes you better. It took me a while.”

Brianna and Emily had originally recruited their non-dairy friends to do dairy judging so they would have enough people for a team in 2023.

“(Brianna) forced me to (do dairy judging),” Makenzie said. “She voluntold me that ‘You’re going to do this and you’re going to like it.’”

Three years later, Avery and Makenzie have more than liked it.

“The practices were the highlight of my week, so I can go and spend time with everyone,” Avery said.

Keith said he has watched the team develop in maturity and skill.

“When I saw the other (non-dairy farm) kids start actually debating the placings … that’s when I thought I’m really seeing growth,” he said.

The team’s connection, Keith said, is part of what has made them successful.

“Everyone wants to help each other and they seem to love hanging out together as a team,” he said. “That’s one of the biggest strengths of any team, when everyone gets along and wants to help each other grow.”

Emily also said the team has grown closer through both 4-H and FFA.

“It makes it a lot more enjoyable when you really know the people that you’re with,” she said.

As sisters, Brianna and Emily have a rivalry for top honors at dairy judging.

“It definitely makes it more competitive,” Brianna said. “We don’t like getting beaten by the other one.”

Makenzie and Avery have learned to get used to working with siblings.

“They definitely kept things the most interesting,” Makenzie said. “It was never quiet, never a dull moment.”

The first year the girls were all on a team together, they went to state and placed fifth. Emily placed first individually at the competition and Brianna placed fourth.

In 2024, Will joined the team, and Makenzie became an alternate. The team again competed at state, this time placing fourth. Finally, in 2025, the team placed first at state. Individually, Brianna was second overall, Emily seventh and Avery 13th. The competition was tough, with St. Charles besting the competition by one point after the placings changed several times.

“There was a lot of ups and downs,” Makenzie said.

The team said they have learned skills like public speaking as well as life lessons through dairy judging.

“You’re going to have bad days when you judge,” Emily. “But that doesn’t mean that you need to set yourself back. You can keep trying to get better each time.”

Overall, the team and their coach are thankful for the win and the experiences they have had together.

“I always look forward to coming to practice every week,” Keith said. “I always have for years. It’s what I love doing. … These guys always made it fun.”