OSU Midwest Tour: Summer 2015

To say the least this trip has been the most interactive, informative, and fun two credits I have ever earned! We all got to learn so many different aspects and perspectives of agriculture, all in a just a one week time frame. It was an amazing journey, and I loved the people I got to experience it with!

Let me briefly take you over my last two days there before my departure. Monday we spent our whole day in Lincoln Nebraska touring the University of Nebraska, and their agricultural sciences buildings.When we were on campus we also got to see the only tractor testing facilities in the western hemisphere and the history of how it got there. We also got to drive out to there huge facilities that house there animals and feed mills, we saw cow calf pairs, feeder steers in their own feed lot, their grain facilities, their hydraulic cattle shoot and some of the research they are currently doing out there. We ended that day with a tour of their football stadium and the facilities that are available to all their student athletes, all I can say about that is WOW!

Tuesday we started the day off at Claas Combines and their warehouse that put their combines and tractors together and test them before going out on market. It is the only one in the United States. That was unfortunately a little rushed because we had to make it to the Union Pacific head quarters back in Omaha so that we could sit in a board meeting made for us, it had all there leaders in agriculture related fields to be able to tell us what they do and specialize in. That was an awesome experience because it was great to be able to talk to them so directly! We then headed to the airport and departed back to where we all came from.

When it has all been seen, said, and done I would say that I have brought so much information back home with me, this was an experience of a life time, to be able to see and do all the things that we did. We didn’t only get to see things we cant here in the Northwest but also make connections that I can hopefully use when looking for internships, jobs or graduate school.

We drove to Iowa to be able to visit one farm, it is a swine operation that also does corn and soybeans of course. But this is not your regular swine operation, it goes by the name of 4K Farms and it houses a boar that is nationally recognized and known. His name is Hillbilly Bone and one straw of his semen is worth $500. We got to watch him collect a boar, inseminate a gilt and hold baby piglets. But after the pigs he took us over to their brand new John Deere corn combine! It was huge and different then what we are use to in Oregon.

After the farm we drove to Omaha, Nebraska and went straight to the Zoo. This Zoo was huge, and filled with so many things, definitely beats the Portland Zoo by size and experience. But other then that today has been pretty late and we are just now waiting to order pizza in and then hit the hotel pool!

Cant wait till tomorrow when we got to visit University of Nebraska, go Huskers.

TTFN

-Molly K.

Sorry I was not able to post yesterday, we had a very full day and didn’t get back till late!

But any ways, Saturday we started off the day at Shatto Dairy, which was near St. Joseph MO. They were a self producing dairy that did all their own pasteurizing, flavoring and bottling. We got to sample all their own cheese, and milk flavors that ranged from regular, chocolate, strawberry, root beer, cotton candy, banana, and more. It was a cute, and good tasting store!

We then got an in depth tour of a local orchard, that raises apples, peaches, pumpkins, christmas trees, and other row crops. The owner that gave us the tour did a really good job with learning about what each of us already do in the agriculture industry and then explaining to us how it is done here in the Midwest. I loved it. I was personally more interested in there christmas tree raising because their primary tree grown in Scottish pine and they have to irrigate their fir trees, which is very unusual for an Oregon girl.

We ended the night with going down to Kansas City to get authentic barbecue, it was an hour drive, a 45 minute wait, but I would say that it was pretty good for not being my own beef. (I am sort of a beef snob)

TTFN

-Molly K.

Triumph foods, incase you don’t know is one of the largest swine processing plants in America. They process over 21,000 pigs each day. Today was very cool because we got to experience watching the whole process from the beginning to packaging. It was interesting to see such a huge operation and how they do things so smoothly.

There was a first for me today, we visited a sheep dairy and got to sample sheep cheese! It was the first time I have ever had a milk product not produced from dairy cow milk. It was eye opening and have made the conclusion that i do enjoy the taste of the cheese products we got to sample. It was a simple small farm and was a new type of spot to visit compared to our other spots.

Lastly we got to meet up with some Monsanto field reps. This was an awesome and informational time because we got to ask all sort of questions about MO farming life, like when there seasons start and end, how they process there crops and what kind of market do there products enter. The agronomist that they brought to the field was very knowledgable and easy to talk to, so that was a huge bonus!

Tomorrow we are visiting another dairy and apple orchard, but after that is all done we get our first down time of the trip to explore the city a little but. Cant wait!

TTFN

-Molly K.

We are officially on night two of this week long trip. Last night after landing in St. Louis we headed to our hotel and then went directly to a shuttle bus to go to my first Major League Baseball game, it was the Cardinals against the Cubs and it was more entertaining then I expected. We fortunately got club level seats so we had a good view, good buffet and good unlimited drinks. And with that we concluded our first night here.

Today we woke up and got to go be tourist for half the day. We toured the court house and shuttled to the top of the arch, it was a pretty amazing view. We then got to take a river boat tour that informed us more about the city that we were in and even some more of the history that has happened. I have to say that I didn’t expect the Mississippi River to be so brown and dirty looking. Oh well.

Our first agricultural related stop of the trip also was experienced today. We got to get a tour of the Monsanto research facilities here in Missouri. We got to see a 3-D printer, seed chipper, GMO plant, grow chambers, LED lighted greenhouses, and much more. It was very interesting and so informative, I cant wait till we get to tour some of their fields later in the week.

Anyway, the trip has been a success so far and I cant wait to go visit PURINA tomorrow! Yipee!

TTFN

-Molly K.

I am roughly an hour away from take off, I will be boarding a plane, uncomfortably trying to fit my carry on luggage in the over head bins because I am too cheap to pay the $25 fee to check a bag. Then I will find my seat 10B and also my seat mates who I will be to close for comfort for the next 4 hours. I can only hope that we both have the same idea of the correct personal space zones…

But all that will be worth it when my plane finally lands, at 4:01 pm. in St. Loius. Because we will proceed to check into our hotel and then I will be attending my first MLB game, Cardinals against… someone. (Im obviously not a huge baseball fan)

During this time I would like to thank a few people who made this trip possibly! Matt Kennedy and Hannah Kammeyer (yes she is my older sister) for being the advisors and chaperones of this trip, Oregon State University and Matt again for putting together this trip and letting it happen. Also my parents for helping me gather the funds to attend this trip. I am sure this will be all worth it in the end, there is not a doubt in my mind!

TTFN

-Molly K.

The trip I have been waiting for all summer has finally started to near it’s beginning date. What makes me so pumped for this trip through OSU, you might ask? Well, I just have a passion for agriculture I love working in it, learning about it, and touring all the aspects of it. Through this tour I will be able to see facilities and lifestyles that you are not able to see here in the Northwest.

For a little background on myself, my name is Molly Kammeyer, I am born and raised in Estacada, OR on a family owned farm. My family’s farm is pretty diverse, we raise cattle, hay, grains, timber, christmas trees, and also own a few companies of our own. Through this diversity I believe it has given me the chance to broaden my knowledge and not be so close minded to new ideas.

I have previously visited the following states in the Midwest region: Michigan, Colorado, Montana, and briefly Indiana. But only Colorado was I there for agricultural reasons, the National Western Stock Show, and WESA. Other then that I have been to California numerous times and even the World Ag Show in Tulare, CA. So given this information you can see I am not new to “touring” various agriculture backgrounds, but I also still have a lot to learn.

My main goal during this trip to the Midwest is too gain insight, knowledge and connections in the agricultural industries that we tour. But the most important thing I plan taking home with me is the experience that this trip has given me, and to hopefully connect with more of my group members that I have yet to meet yet.

Check back later & get updates throughout my trip, first stop St. Louis, Missouri!

TTFN

-Molly K.