OFI 1549: Filling What Is Missing On The Farm | FFA SAE Edition | Justin Duenke | Audrain County FFA

Justin Duenke is a 2022 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Diversified Agriculture.  Growing up farming on a row crop operation, his family decided to add cattle to the farm when he was 9 years old.  During a bad drought and seeing very poor corn out in the field, Justin's father made the decision to chop the corn for silage rather than try to sell it, and to feed it to their cattle.  The only problem was that they did not have cattle, but they remedied that by purchase approximately 100 bred heifers.

Since that time they have stuck with the cattle, partially as a continuing hedge against a situation like this in the future and partially because Justin and his brother found their farming passion came from working with the livestock.  Today they raise horses and cattle, grow soybeans and corn and are now experimenting with forage sorghum and rye as cover crops.

Justin is currently a sophomore at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri.  He is studying agricultural science but which eventually focus on nutrition.  Justin wants to have the knowledge that will allow him to bring nutritional expertise back to the farm and to develop rations and methods to better feed their cattle.