Bio: Jakobi, Brandon - Wins Diversified Ag Award (2022)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Jakobi, Donnerbauer

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/13/2022

Jakobi Wins Diversified AG Award,
Takes 2nd in 2 other categories



Brandon Jakobi proudly displays his awards from his participation in the FFA. He received second place at state for the Star in Agribusiness and Star in Agricultural Placement awards.

Submitted photo


Loyal FFA member Brandon Jakobi went out with a bang after his final year of FFA, earning multiple awards on the state stage.

Jakobi won the 2022 Diversified Agricultural Production Proficiency Award, sponsored by Wisconsin Public Service. He also was the state runner-up for both the Star in Agribusiness and Star in Agricultural Placement awards.

Jakobi received his awards at the Wisconsin FFA Convention, held June 13-16 at Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

The Star in Agricultural Placement award is given to students that are working in a variety of job opportunities in the agricultural industry.

Brandon grew up working on his family farm near Granton, helping with everything that is involved with running a dairy farm. In the beginning, his responsibilities included helping to feed the calves, scraping manure in the barn, dipping and wiping cows, and pitching hay. Now, his duties include everything from driving tractors during fieldwork or haying season to milking cows and caring for them, and cleaning heifer pens and calf barns. Furthermore, he helps his dad with custom work for farmers, including ag bagging services and a roasting setup for soybeans and corn.

Jakobi is involved in just about everything on the farm, including operating equipment, chopping hay, hauling corn silage and much more. His duties progressed as he grew to take on more challenging tasks, such as pushing up feed with the skid loader, overseeing the calf herd, and scraping the free-stall barn.

Through his supervised agricultural experience (SAE), Jakobi has learned how to skillfully operate tractors, combines, silage trucks and other heavy-duty equipment, as well as become more involved in his family’s dairy operation.

Also, the Star in Agribusiness award recognizes students who have taken their spirit for entrepreneurship and developed their own agricultural business, which is precisely what Jakobi has done.

Jakobi runs his own baling service and has been able to expand his services to include a variety of options for baling hay. In addition to owning a round baler, Jakobi recently purchased a small square baler and hay wagon, which has allowed him to further diversify his services. He performs his own maintenance checks and repairs, in addition to running all of the baling services. Jakobi said that the biggest challenge in his SAE has been maintaining profits, but he has found that providing high-quality service to his customers paired with local advertising has allowed him to keep his business profitable.

In the fall, Jakobi plans to attend Northcentral Technical College where he is enrolled to pursue a degree in agricultural mechanics. After college, Jakobi would like to take over his family’s farm while working as a CNC machinist.

Jakobi’s parents are Dennis and Tracy Jakobi. His advisor is Stephanie Donnerbauer.

About Wisconsin Association of FFA

The Wisconsin Association of FFA is a leading student organization due to the efforts of 253 FFA chapters across the state. With a focus on premier leadership, personal growth and career success, students’ FFA activities complement agricultural classroom instruction by giving them an opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge while gaining real-world experience. These activities are dependent on donor funding through the Wisconsin FFA Foundation.

The FFA is also supported by the Wisconsin FFA Alumni Association throughout Wisconsin. For more information about Wisconsin FFA, the Wisconsin FFA Foundation and the Wisconsin FFA Alumni visit www.wisconsinaged.org.