Crop Tour Day 13

Family Farm: Ecological Farming, value added and Fresh Market Vegetables Today we visited The Farm Connection, which was a bit different from the rest of our stops, this trip. The Farm Connection is a family farm operated by Allan, Mary and Kate Yegerlehner and has been in their family since 1860. Both Allan and his…

Crop Tour Day 12

Rice and Cotton Production Today was probably one of the best days of the trip in my opinion. In the morning we visited Wheeler Rice Farms at the top end of the rice belt, which has just enough growing days for rice at around 150 days. On the farm there is 11,5000 acres and the…

Crop Tour Day 11

Fisheries Management at Otter Slough Conservation Area Today our first stop was at a wetland conservation area are called Otter Slough. Otter Slough is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. It contains over 2700 acres of flooded groundwater that is inhabited by a variety of fish and wetland birds. Each pond on the property…

Crop Tour Day 10

Royal Farms Dairy and Land Institute The Dairy industry in the United States is not supply managed whereas in Canada the dairy industry is supply managed. Today we visited a dairy farm that has 6600 milking cows in an open lot facility with a double 60 parlor at one facility and 2500 milking cows in…

Crop Tour Day 9

Phil Knox – Rural communities and Dryland cropping systems Today we started our trek back east into Kansas where we stopped at AgSun Farms. While we were there we talked about rural communities and dryland cropping systems. Under the AgSun umbrella there is a dryland cropping system along with a feedlot, elevator and corn flaking…

Crop Tour Day 8

Day Off Today was our day off from school and we filled it.  We started our day off with a tour to Seven Falls which was beautiful and then headed up to Golden, Colorado where the Coors Brewery is located and we were able to take a brewery tour.  After the tour we headed up…

Crop Tour Day 7

Five Rivers Feedlot Today we visited Gilcrest Feedlot and spoke with Judd, the general manager as well as some of his department heads such as the people in charge of yard, milling, feed, cattle, office, and shipping and receiving. This feedlot was built in 1970 and there are 340 pens on site. Annually, this feedlot…

Crop Tour Day 6

Bill Kranz on Ethics of Water Use and Wagonhammer Ranch This morning we headed west to a farm located on top of the Ogallala aquifer in Nebraska. This aquifer is one of the world’s largest and is approximately 174,000 square miles and is located below South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and…

Crop Tour Day 5

Pioneer Production Plant and Abengoa Bioenergy Plant Several crops hold a prominent place in the history and iconography of the United States. Cotton was once “King” in the antebellum Southern States, whereas later generations of American school children would sing of “amber waves of [wheat] grain” blanketing the plains. Nowadays, soybeans command respect and attention……

Crop Tour Day 4

John Deere and Nichols Farms Today we travelled to Des Moines to visit the John Deere manufacturing plant. Once arriving we were given a guided tour from retired John Deere Employees on a tram. Throughout the plant we were able to see how different pieces of machinery are built and put together. At this plant…

Crop Tour Day 3

US Farm Bill and Whestine Brothers (Swine Production) This morning we had the opportunity to hear Kevin Brooks talk to us about the US Farm Bill. Kevin was an extension consultant at the University of Illinois; he is now a private farm consultant. The US Farm Bill was developed during the Great Depression to provide…

Crop Tour Day 2

Chicago Board of Trade and Cargill Grain Terminal: Today was the first day of the trip. We started the day off by going to the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and having breakfast in their cafeteria. The Chicago board of trade was established in 1884 and is one of the oldest futures and options exchanges….