Jacob Daniel Dierking, of Blackburn, won the Missouri FFA Diversified Crop-Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award.
Dierking, a graduate of Santa Fe High School, is the son of Joel and Marla Dierking. He is a member of the Santa Fe FFA Chapter. His FFA advisor is Martha Scheriman.
Dierking’s supervised agricultural experience program started with 29 rented acres for corn production. In 2016, Dierking rented 35 acres to grow corn. That year, his family also started a vegetable-growing business where they grew sweet corn. As of 2019, Dierking cultivated 195 acres of corn, 111 acres of soybeans and 25 acres of sweet corn.
In FFA, Dierking competed at the state level in the agricultural mechanics and farm management career development events. He won the 2018 Missouri FFA Grain Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award. Dierking attended the Washington Leadership Conference and National FFA Convention & Expo. At the state and national conventions, he was a member of courtesy corps. Dierking has exhibited at the Missouri State Fair.
In school, Dierking is a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and National Postsecondary Agricultural Student Organization. Outside of school, he serves as the vice president of Walkenezer 4-H Club and an usher at Zion Lutheran Church.
Dierking currently is studying agronomy at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. After graduating college, Dierking’s plans include expanding his row-crop operation and farm full time.
Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while gaining hands-on career experience. Diversified Crop- Entrepreneurship Proficiency is one of 46 proficiency award areas recognized at the state level. Missouri Crop Improvement Association sponsored this award.