South Dakota Corn Utilization Council (SDCUC)
SDCUC Board Members
Jake Volkers - District 5 - Secretary
Jake Volkers lives and farms 2 miles west of Brookings. The Volkers operation consists of corn, soybean and wheat. Jake also is a Federal Crop adjuster and a field assistant for the Brooking county FSA office.
He got his start farming in 1972 with his father, together they raised and corn, soybeans, wheat and 30 head of dairy cattle. Deciding that farming was the career for him, Jake bought out his father and took over the 3rd generation farm. In 1977, Jake and his brother-in-law, Marvin expanded the dairy operation; but Jake and his family have since retired from the dairy business.
In addition to his role with the SDCUC, Jake has held several leadership positions in the ag industry. He served as the Land-O-Lakes district 17 director and the Land-O-Lakes leadership council director and was past president for the East Central Holstein Assoc. Jake believes the most important issue facing corn producers is developing the livestock industry so that we can utilize the by-product (DDG) from our ethanol plants.
Jake and his wife Roberta have three children together: Kristen, Jason and Matthew. When Jake isn’t busy farming he enjoys golfing, hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.