American FFA Degree dairy recipients

Why did you want to obtain your American FFA Degree? A. Dieball: I wanted to earn my American FFA Degree because it is the highest honor an FFA member can achieve. My sister and I set this as a goal to accomplish together. Walking across the stage at the National FFA Convention and Expo in our blue jackets for the last time was the best moment.

S. Dieball: I wanted to obtain my American FFA Degree because I wanted to get the highest degree in FFA I could. My sister and I set this as a goal to accomplish together.

Clemenson: Receiving my American FFA Degree has been a goal of mine from the time I joined FFA in eighth grade. The American FFA Degree is the highest honor that someone can receive in the FFA organization and I wanted to push myself to work hard enough to receive this honor. I also have family members who have received this award, and they were very encouraging throughout my journey to pursue the American FFA Degree.

Hoefs: I wanted to get my American FFA Degree because it is a great way to wrap up my FFA career. This award is the highest an FFA member can receive and less than 1% of all members do. To get this award you must be involved in your local and state chapters and with your community and have a substantial supervised agricultural experience. The American FFA Degree is a way to represent all the hard work and hours I have dedicated to FFA and my SAE.

What was your reaction when you found out you received it and who did you tell first? A. Dieball: I was so excited when I knew I was receiving my American FFA Degree. My dad, Jim, was an active FFA member in high school and remembers attending the national convention. I shared this honor with him first, and he was just as excited as I was.

S. Dieball: I was so excited and surprised when I found out I got my American FFA Degree. My parents were the first people I told.

Clemenson: I was honored when I found out that I had received my American FFA Degree. It truly takes a lot of work and dedication to achieve this degree and it is such a rewarding experience to be recognized for this work. The first people I told when I got the email were my parents because they were by my side throughout my journey and have always been my biggest supporters.

Hoefs: I was very excited when I found out and told my mom right away. My mom is also an ag teacher and FFA advisor, so she knows the importance of this degree and helped me a lot along the way.

What was your SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience)? A. Dieball: My SAE focused on dairy entrepreneurship. I own part of the animals on my family’s dairy farm, primarily colored breeds. I lease these animals to young 4-H members for showing at county and state fairs, which allows me to give youth the experience of caring for and showing an animal at the fair.

S. Dieball: My SAE was working on my family’s dairy farm. I cared for the animals and helped where it was needed.

Clemenson: My SAE consists of dairy placement on my family’s dairy farm and dairy entrepreneurship, in which I have my own herd of Brown Swiss cattle. My main task on the farm has been caring for youngstock as calf manager. Before college, I fed the calves and youngstock their milk and grain, ensured they had fresh water and clean and dry bedding, and monitored overall health and conditions. I help with breeding selections, our reproduction protocols and selecting bulls to correct faults to improve overall herd genetics of progeny. Milking and fieldwork are also some responsibilities I hold depending on the time of year and need of our operation. Being away at college, I am not home to complete these tasks daily, but I still help on the weekends when I can. For my entrepreneurship SAE, I have eight Brown Swiss cows and heifers. I purchased my first heifer in 2018 and have expanded by breeding and raising my own in addition to purchasing heifers at sales.

Hoefs: My SAE is working on my family’s farm. Throughout high school, I helped milk 2-3 times a week and spent my summer and weekends there as well. My tasks ranged from vaccinations, hoof trimming, herd checks, moving cattle, cleaning pens and many other miscellaneous tasks. It was really neat to see the progress I had made from my first year in 2019 to my last year of records in 2023.

What are your future plans? A. Dieball: After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in December, I will be joining Munson Lakes Nutrition in Howard Lake, Minnesota, as an animal nutrition sales support specialist. I am so excited.

S. Dieball: My future plans are to work at a childcare center. I also want to continue to help on the farm as much as possible. I am currently attending Northeast Iowa Community College working toward a degree in early childhood education and criminal justice.

Clemenson: My future plans are to finish my education at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and obtain a bachelor of science degree in dairy science with a minor in ag business and Spanish. After graduation, I hope to pursue a career in dairy nutrition. Through this career, I hope to assist local farms in maximizing their production and efficiency while keeping their livestock happy and healthy. I also plan to stay involved on my family’s farm and continue to improve our cattle, land and sustainability.

Hoefs: My future plan is to work in the dairy industry, preferably in the genetics or reproduction sector in sales or as a consultant. I love visiting new farms and making new connections with farmers. I want to be able to help them reach their goals and be a great resource for them as well.

Tell us about your farm. A. Dieball: My family’s farm, Dieball Dairy LLC, milks 240 cows using five robotic milking systems. We also have land for crops. I’m actively involved in the livestock side, feeding calves and caring for the robot cows. Since I attend college five hours away, I manage many records and tasks remotely to stay updated.

S. Dieball: I live on my family’s fourth-generation dairy farm, Dieball Dairy LLC. We milk 240 dairy cows with five robotic milkers.

Clemenson: I grew up on my family’s farm, Clemenson Farms, located outside of Zumbrota, Minnesota. We milk around 90 cows consisting of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jerseys. In addition to the milking herd, we keep all our bull calves and raise them as feeder steers. We also run 750 acres of crops, growing alfalfa and corn for our livestock and selling additional corn each year.

Hoefs: My family’s farm is run by my grandparents, Jim and Donna, my dad, Jimmy, and his brothers, Jason and Joel. A cool thing about the farm is it was started in 1861 which makes me the seventh generation to grow up there. Hoefs Dairy milks 250 cows two times a day in a double-8 herringbone parlor. They are housed in a freestall barn. We also raise all youngstock on the farm and finish out our own steers. We own about 1,000 acres and grow corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, winter rye, barley and peas.