Evan Schaefer, 19, of the Miami Trace FFA Chapter was named the national winner of the Diversified Crop Production – Entrepreneurship Proficiency award program at the 88th National FFA Convention & Expo, Oct. 28-31 in Louisville, Ky.
Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excelled as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while they gained hands-on career experience. Diversified Crop Production – Entrepreneurship is one of 49 FFA proficiency award categories offered at local, state and national levels. Diversified Crop Production – Entrepreneurship proficiency award program is sponsored by CHS, as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
Evan Schaefer went from seven acres of sweet corn to 513 acres of diversified crops in the third year of his project. This land acquisition increased his net worth by $136,000.
The new acreage is divided equally into corn and soybean rotational production systems, which allows him to experiment with new farming practices that can break through yield barriers. He looks forward to continuing to expand his operation in the future.
He is supported by his parents, Tim and Mary Jo Schaefer and FFA advisor, Bruce Bennett and Amanda Swigert.
