Midwest Agriculture Tour

Since being back home from our trip there is a lot that I have noticed that is different than being in the midwest. The first would be the heat, it is nice to breath in the cool crisp air of Oregon. Another difference is that you don’t see corn and soy beans everywhere. And it was nice to be able to sleep in for a little while.

I gained tons from this class, from seeing the differences in agriculture in other places of the United States to meeting and getting to know the other people on the trip. Our days were always filled with interesting tours from some of the top companies in the agriculture industry. The tour that stuck with me the most of Triumph foods. Being able to see the whole process was very eye opening for me.

Overall this trip was probably the most fun I have had taking a class. I want to thank Matt for putting on this trip. It will definitely be a class I will look forward to taking in the future.

On our last day on our Midwest tour we visited Claas and Union Pacific in Omaha, Nebraska. At Claas we learned that they were the only facilitie in the United States. We learned about their combines and what made them better than their competitors. We were kinda tight on time since we had to be at Union Pacific at a certain time.

At Union Pacific we went to their headquarter office and met with the executive team in charge of the agricultural division of Union Pacific. We sat in on a professional business meeting environment when they told us about what they do and the ag section of their company. It was very informative and really interesting to learn about them. We then headed off to the airport and parted ways. Overall this was a great trip!

 

Today we visited 4K Farms. A swine farm outside of Red Oak Iowa. When we got there we had to put of our blue boot covers. We then were able to watch a boars seaman being removed. Next we went over to where the sows are kept and watched the insemination process. Lastly we saw some piglets and other sows and boars on the property.  It was really interesting learning about Kirk Swansonsens farm and what he had to say about the industry. I really enjoyed learning more about AI, and being able to watch the whole process.

On Day 3 we visited Purina’s research farm. We got to see the horse, dairy cattle, beef cattle, and companion animal research areas. It was really interesting to see all of their facilities and what they do. Since I work at Wilco it was very informational for me to be able to go there, because I know a majority of their products so it was interesting to learn about them.

We then drove over to University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. We toured their Agriculture Department. In their Animal Science area they had glow in the dark pigs. The reason for the glowing pigs is to be able to see if they carry a dominat trait for a gene. It was neat to see the differences between their College of Ag and ours at Oregon State.

Wow! Today was a very full day of touring St. Louis! We started off the morning heading down to the courthouse and saw some of what the original courthouses look like. We then walked down the block to the St. Louis Arch. We had to take very small sized tram to the top that only fitted 5 people! It was so small you couldn’t stand up and could probably touch the other side from where you were sitting. When you got to the top the views were very impressive! And you could see all of downtown St. Louis. We then went down to the Mississippi River and went on a Riverboat tour.

After a morning of touring  St. Louis we then headed to Monsanto. It was very interesting learning about Monsanto and the research they do. I’m really passionate about agriculture and most particularly crops and crop science, so going to Monsanto was very exciting for me. It was very interesting to learn what they do and how their research works.

Tomorrow we leave in the morning and head to Purina!

 

The first day of the Tour we flew into St. Louis around 4, and met up with the rest of the group. We made it to our hotel, checked in and then headed off to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. It was very humid and rainy during the game but the seats were definantly worth it. It was a very cool expirenece because I have never been to a professional baseball game before!

Today is the day I head off to St. Louis! I’m so excited to be apart of this trip. Being able to go and tour some of the largest agriculture facilities in the United States is very exciting. Being involved with agriculture my whole life I always hear of and see some of these places on the internet, TV, and in classes. But being able to actually go and see and visit with the people that work there will be very interesting.

I’m nervous and for the most part excited. I have never been and had to navigate through the airport by myself before. And going somewhere new is overwhelming because you don’t know what to expect. But I’m excited that I have friends going on this trip too, and I’m excited to meet and get to know everyone else who will be going as well!

Midwest Bound!

Tess

Hey there! We are less than a week away from flying into St.Louis, Missouri! I’m very excited to be apart of this trip. There are many things that I’m looking forward to seeing and to be able to go somewhere I have never been before.

Agriculture has been a huge part of my life. I grew up on a grass seed farm in McMinnville, OR. I showed horses and raised market lambs in 4-H since the 4th grade, and was involved with many leadership activities as well. In high school I joined FFA and continued my passion for agriculture. I’m now going to be beginning my Sophomore year at Oregon State where I’m majoring in Agriculture Sciences with a minor in Crop Science with plans on getting my Masters in Education. After school I want to teach high school agriculture classes and share my passion and knowledge for agriculture with others.

What I’m most excited to gain through this trip is to get to see the differences and similarities of agriculture in the Midwest to agriculture here in Oregon. After looking over our schedule I was excited to see that we will  get to go tour Monsanto and some of their test plots. I am very interested in crop science, so getting to go there will most definatly  Also I’m looking forward to visit Nebraska because both my Mom’s and Dad’s side of the families are from Omaha, and I have never visited there before.