Wellsville-Middletown senior Kaleb Peak won the Missouri FFA swine production placement proficiency Award and was recognized as the Area 5 star in placement at the 95th Missouri FFA Convention in Columbia.

Proficiency awards recognize FFA members who excel as agricultural entrepreneurs, employees or volunteers while gaining hands-on career experience. Swine production – placement is one of 46 proficiency award areas recognized at the state level. The Missouri Pork Association sponsored the award.

Area stars in placement are selected based upon outstanding achievement in work experience in an agricultural business as a part of a student’s supervised agricultural experience program and active participation in FFA. Area 5 includes 19 chapters in the Northeast District.

Peak’s supervised agricultural experience program consists of raising hogs for Peak Farms through their contract with Maschhoff. His duties were a part of ensuring the health of 8,800 hogs by overseeing their feed, vaccinations and treatment. He accomplished these tasks by keeping daily records to monitor mortality, feed and vaccination statuses. Animal behavior and biosecurity measures were also under Peak’s responsibility. Peak is a member of the Missouri Pork Association.

Peak served as chapter reporter, chaplain and assistant sentinel for the W-M FFA chapter. He also competed in the meat evaluation and livestock evaluation career development event. In 2022, he was a state qualifier in the poultry evaluation CDE and served as captain of the trap shooting team.

Peak is also involved in track and field, cross country and speech and drama club at W-M. He competed at the state cross country meet in November.

Peak plans to attend the State Technical College of Missouri in Linn next year to pursue a degree in construction technology. He hopes to obtain a job at a large contracting company with plans to eventually return and work full time on his family’s farm.