Leon Busdieker is still known as “Mr. B” to the students who took his vocational agriculture classes at Warrenton High School from 1978 to 2006. He has spent a total of 43 years promoting …
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Leon Busdieker is still known as “Mr. B” to the students who took his vocational agriculture classes at Warrenton High School from 1978 to 2006. He has spent a total of 43 years promoting agriculture in a variety of ways, most recently serving as the state supervisor for the Missouri FFA Association.
Busdieker was recently named the 2020 Outstanding State Supervisor by the National Association of Supervisors in Agriculture Education. He officially retired June 30.
Busdieker has always loved farming and has explored the gamut of agricultural opportunities with his students, motivating them and pushing them to look beyond what they believed they could do.
“As humans, we don’t know what our potential is,” said Busdieker. “It’s not on our radar. Opportunities present. You can pass or take it. It’s what you do with them that’s important.”
Former student Jessica (Shaw) Clayborn, Class of 1997, said Busdieker was a priceless asset to her as she learned from him during school, then shared her business successes with him later. Clayborn is the owner of Prairie View Seed in Hawk Point. With a degree in agronomy, Clayborn is highly respected by local farmers who seek her out for her expertise in selecting hybrid seeds, understanding soil types, spotting crop disease and increasing yields.
“He took the time to work with every single one of us,” she said. “He pushed everybody to do something new and different. He did not want to pigeon-hole us. He encouraged us.”
Clayborn remembers how difficult it was for her to do any kind of public speaking. Busdieker was always there to offer some cheerleading and positive advice. She said he helped her figure out which direction to head in a field where there are many choices.
Busdieker believes women have “floated to the top in ag leadership.” He believes young women work harder to compete, but have the knowledge, leadership skills and work ethic to succeed.
Although Busdieker is officially retired, he is still busy doing the same thing — promoting agriculture. He serves as the superintendent of sheep and dairy goat shows at the Missouri State Fair. He also serves on several commodity committees. He served as a judge and emcee at the Warren County Fair.
Busdieker grew up near New Melle on a small family farm. His mother was a teacher at a one-room schoolhouse. She married a farmer and they continued to work the multi-generational farm with diversified crops and livestock.
“Basically, all the grain raised on the farm was used to feed the livestock. Then you marketed the livestock to pay your bills so you could put a crop in the next year,” said Busdieker. “If you had a little bit of money then to live on, that was great.
“I have always had an appreciation for the farm. No matter how bad things got, I never heard my parents complain. I had a good upbringing.”
When Busdieker retired from teaching in 2006, he became the district supervisor for the agriculture food and natural resources program for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He worked from his home in Hawk Point and traveled the district promoting FFA programs. In 2011, he became the director and commuted to Jefferson City.
Busdieker said he was responsible for managing statewide FFA programs as an advocate for agriculture education. He was involved in promoting FFA leadership programs and career exploration and development. His duties included planning leadership conferences and helping to provide local program finance support for FFA chapters. He also made sure local teachers had the curriculum they needed.
“Some of my students who had zero agricultural background or interest went on to do some giant things in agriculture,” said Busdieker. “It’s more about their interest than opportunity. Agriculture is the number one industry in Missouri. There aren’t enough students in rural Missouri to fill the jobs.”
When Busdieker was teaching, he offered a bit of everything ag related — welding, horticulture, milling, machining, lathe, sheet metal, small engine, basic electricity and basic carpentry.
Busdieker said he is “really proud” that FFA chapters continue to be added around the state, which helps add new programs for communities that could not offer them in the past. He feels there are less farms, but more opportunities in agriculture.
He said that “traditional ag is what feeds the world,” but much technology has been developed through agricultural practices. Busdieker said the Warrenton community had high expectations when it came to agriculture and were always supportive of all the classroom programming offered.
“The students are the true return on investment,” said Busdieker. “You always wonder if you might have had a little bit of an influence there.”
