Economic Development Day One
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Submitted by Karly Frederick
After a typical Kansas fall temperature drop, the KARL class XV members arrived at the Clarion Inn & Conference Center ready for the second seminar of our KARL experience to begin. The chair for the day, JR Robl, welcomed the group to Garden City and Western Kansas. We started off with a review of the Genesis Seminar and the standards that the team set for our two-year journey. Continuing the welcome wagon, Ray Purdy, welcomed the class and shared some KARL expectations such as stating our name before asking a question and wearing our nametag on the correct side.
Matt Allen, Garden City City Manager, kicked things off with an overview of Garden City’s history. James and William Fulton founded Garden City in 1877. Entrepreneurship was instilled in the city from early times, attributed to CJ Buffalo. One of the pivotal elements of a city surviving is access to water. The evolution of water and irrigation methods evolved over Garden City’s history; from ditch irrigation, flood irrigation, then finally to center pivot irrigation. When flood irrigation grew in popularity, so did the agricultural industry. The growth was felt by the feedlot and packing plant sectors and continued with the world’s largest packing plant, IBP, being built outside of Garden City. With so many job opportunities in the area, Garden City became a hub for immigrants from across the world. This has created a diverse and humming community that is home to more than 56 languages and dialects. Matt shared a very impactful statement about diversity, “Diversity is the soul of our community, our people, our differences, our similarities, our unity. However we struggle with if our unity is conditional”. I think everyone can relate to that statement and how badly we want that unity.
After this robust welcome, we dove into our first panel session, which was centered on the foundation of Garden City. Lonna DuVall, President of Finney County Economic Development, moderated the panel, which consisted of Bob Kreutzer of Tatro Plumbing, Lee Reeves of Reeves Cattle, and Alan McEntee of DFA. The conversation started with each of the men explaining more about their backgrounds and history of their businesses. Lonna led the panel through questions about natural resources and water use, ethanol, and Bob’s experience serving on the Governor’s council for education. There was a clear theme amongst their sentiments about Garden City’s ability to not only survive but thrive- the various stakeholders for the city have to come together and communicate to solve and grow the city.
The panel that followed was moderated by Lonna DuVall as well and was a panel on education. The panel participants consisted of Dr. Ryan Ruda the President of Garden City Community College, Dr. Steve Karlin the superintendent of Garden City Schools, and Dr. Scott Myers the superintendent of Holcomb Schools. The theme of industry and stakeholders coming together for the best for the area continued to ring true. The three panelists made a point that the education system in a town is one of those key stakeholders as education is a driver of economic vitality and stability. An example they discussed was communicating with a new business that is locating in Garden City and the high school working with them to create a career pathway that feeds specifically into that business. Dr. Myers said, “School needs to be designed for more than just teaching, we have to help kids meet Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs because kids experience trauma and we must help them feel safe before they can learn, find their passion, and then find self-actualization.” After interacting with this group it is clear that they all work together and work with the economic development team and that more cities need to take this approach.
The last panel for the day was moderated by KARL alum, Charlie Sauerwein of WindRiver Grain. The panel consisted of Michael Feltman of Feltman Law, Trista Brown-Priest of Cattle Empire, and Amro Samy of Clarion Inn. It is clear that Garden City is an extremely diverse community with many immigrants, documented and undocumented. The heart of the conversation during this panel was that the people that are here are good and kind people doing what is best for their family. It takes business owners, legislatures, voters, and advocates to stand behind these families and make change. The goal is to find a solution for immigration in this country because what is happening now is not working. Amro, who goes by Samy, shared several personal anecdotes about supporting his employees and his emotional tie as he is an immigrant himself from Egypt. Michael offered a lawyer’s perspective and I would argue, a perspective soaked in compassion. Michael Feltman mentioned several times section 245i and encouraging our lawmakers to reinstate that. This section is essentially a fine for overstaying visas instead of being essentially, “banned” from entering the country for 10 years. The panel was concluded with Trista explaining the need for immigrants because the agricultural industry needs hardworking and good people more than ever.
The last session before the reception the class got to meet Dr. Billy Zanolini of Texas A&M for, “Telling Your Story is Not Enough”. After some casual football chatter, it did not take Dr. Zanolini long to get us laughing and then quickly getting ‘real’ with us. Dr. Zanolini challenged the group with question after question about controversial agricultural topics. It wasn’t just a simple question, he played the role of all stances on agricultural that we would view as “Anti-ag”. Some of these topics consisted of Artificial Insemination, GMOs, mismanagement of water, subsidies, dehorning cattle, and more. You could feel the awkwardness; the frustration, the confusion, the hesitation to speak up and we learned so much in a short amount of time. We learned that we have to have a conversation with folks different than us and be ready to talk about these hard topics. This all came down to the conclusion that we must focus on working with people in the movable middle to make a change.
The evening festivities began with a reception consisting of KARL alumni and supporters. Dinner was served and in true Garden City fashion, it was a corn-fed and juicy steak! JR introduced Dr. Zanolini for “Telling Your Story is Not Enough Part 2”. Dr. Zanolini took a much different approach in this setting. He set the scene by explaining how Part 1 went and explaining how hard these topics are because ‘ag people’ are really good at talking our own language. We must frame things differently and change the way we talk about these issues. Dr. Zanolini went onto explain how they are attempting to make an impact on this in Texas through their 4-H organization. Texas 4-H has created a student ambassador program that trains students on these ag issues, public speaking skills, and running 4-H events. The goal of this program is to expand to urban kids and even international kids as well. It was clear that everyone in the room came away with the desire to strike up a conversation about food and ag on our next grocery store trip.
Garden City was a whirlwind seminar full of so much industry knowledge, so many connections made, and so many life experiences gained. It was truly a special experience to feel the love and support of the KARL program by western Kansas.
Economic Development Day Two
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Submitted by Andrew Ochampaugh
Day two in Garden City for our class began with a brisk November morning on Brookover Ranch Feed Yard, located just southeast of Garden City. We were welcomed into Brookover by Mark Bose, Bruce Conrady, and Brian Price, all managers within the Brookover Companies. Brookover Feed Yards, Inc. is a renowned pioneer of the commercial cattle feeding industry since the establishment of its first commercial yard in 1951. Today, Brookover operates two strategically located feed yards with a total feeding capacity of 80,000 head. In addition to the feed yards, Brookover operates a liquid feed supplement production facility in Sublette and also manages a total of 23,000 acres of grass and farm ground in Finney County.
It takes a lot of resources to keep an operation like Brookover running, mainly: water, feed, and the right people. At the south feed yard where we visited, water can be found at just 90’ below the surface and It doesn’t just get used once, 82% of the water being consumed at Brookover is recycled water from within the operation. The cattle are fed a diet that consists partly of feed produced at Brookover facilities and dry distillers’ grain from area ethanol plants. Pens are ridden daily to observe, pull and treat sick cattle immediately. Sick cattle are moved through a treatment program based on the specific diagnoses then moved to a recovery pen that allows the animal to readjust to ration and environmental conditions like their own pens. To achieve the best animal stewardship and feed conversion, Brookover uses well-designed feed bunks to ensure timely feeding. Waterers are cleaned on a regular basis. Pen drainage is superb and the yard is cleaned continuously, which can improve cattle performance by up to 20 percent. Sales of finished cattle are an integral part of commercial cattle feeding. Brookover is ideally located within a 60-mile radius of five major packers with a combined capacity of 20,000 head per day. Since 1951, many transformations have occurred in the beef cattle industry. While Brookover has evolved to meet the needs of the ever-changing marketplace, it has remained family-owned and dedicated to operational excellence, the community, and its people.
From Brookover Ranch, we traveled just 5 miles Northwest to the newly built Dairy Farmers of America Garden City production plant. DFA Garden City is a partnership between DFA and 12 of its member farms in Southwest Kansas and helps support the industry’s continued growth in the region, as well as meet the rising demand for U.S. dairy both domestically and globally. Our class split up into a couple of smaller groups to tour DFA and Mies & Sons Trucking, LLC located on the same campus.
Jerry Mies grew up on his parents’ dairy farm in West Wichita, Kansas. In 1984, after his parents sold the family farm, Jerry started hauling milk for a distant relative. He picked up the milk from numerous traditional family dairy farms in and around Sedgwick County, Kansas. As the years went by, Jerry’s hard work and determination eventually opened an opportunity for him and his wife, Cathy, to purchase their first truck and milk tanker. It was in February 1991, that Mies & Sons Trucking was established! The name, Mies & Sons, was taken from the name of the farm where he grew up, Mies & Sons Dairy. Mies & Sons Trucking, LLC has grown and evolved with the changes in the transportation and dairy industries. In 2017, when DFA moved to Garden City, Mies & Sons Trucking was awarded the contract to haul milk into the new plant and that is when the Garden City location was established. In addition to the office staff, to keep the 24/7 facility running, Mies & Sons employees 6 in-house mechanics and 5 wash bays. Their operation in Garden City houses a 6-bay mechanic shop, full truck wash, driver shower facilities, parts room, and of course a full fueling station to keep their fleet of over 70 trucks on the road.
At DFA, Vicki Steffens, the Plant Financial Analyst, welcomed us into the conference room for some insight into what DFA Garden City plant does daily. This 267,000 square foot facility employs 76 people and processes approximately 4,000,000 lbs. of milk per day, all collected from within a 100-mile radius of Garden City. DFA is processing this milk 24/7 into two main products: dry milk powder and cream. The dry milk powder is often shipped to Kansas City before being loaded onto a train and then eventually onto a barge and sold into overseas markets. The 14 to 16 tankers of cream produced daily are also sold into both national and international markets. Milk is 87% water and so through these processes, DFA produces roughly 800,000 gallons of “Cow Water” daily. This water, often referred to as purple water, is available for many uses including irrigation in the area and many are hopeful that it will soon be potable and available for Garden City Municipal to use.
Next up for our class was the Tyson Meat Packing plant in Holcomb. Formerly IBP, this beef packing plant is one of the largest, employing 3,000 people and having the capacity to slaughter 2,000 head of cattle per day. Before the August 9th fire that destroyed part of the harvest room and front line, this was the number one producing plant for Tyson in the US. We were greeted by Tony, the plant manager and a couple of his team members. Tony spent time talking with us about the fire, he explained to us about how well the emergency preparedness plans worked that his team had all spent hours practicing. Tony was out of town the night of the fire, but his assistant plant manager took the reins and made all the right decisions. Once the crews arrived and the Fire Chief took control of the scene, the Tyson Maintenance team helped the firefighters identify where the fire was at which allowed them to take steps to extinguish it. One of the biggest tools that they used was the ability to shift the direction of airflow in the plant by exhaust fan, this helped to control the fire while firefighters extinguished the blaze. The morning after the fire is when reality started to set in for everyone. The 3,000 employees of Tyson were wondering if they still had jobs, if the plant would be rebuilt, none of the employees knew what to think. It took a couple of days to work through how to make it all work, but Tyson management came out and decided that they will rebuild this plant and that all the full-time employees would stay on and be paid for 40 hours a week minimum until the plant is back on-line. This was a huge decision that directly impacts the whole community, Tony talked with our class about the importance of being prepared in emergency situations, not just physically but also prepared for employees and their livelihood. Following this discussion, we broke up into a couple of small groups to tour the plant and better understand the process. This was my first time inside a meatpacking plant, and I was blown away! I could not believe the sheer size, capacity, and cleanliness of the facility. Walking through each of the stations and understanding how each cut of meat gets completed and then packaged and shipped, it was fascinating and yet also quite humbling. This plant is a major hub and key partner for southwest Kansas and the Holcomb/Garden City communities, Tony invited us to come back and take a tour when they are in full production and I am thinking we just might need to take him up on that.
Following Tyson, we traveled to the Sunflower Electric Holcomb Station for a working lunch. Here we learned about the 420-employee strong, not-for-profit co-op that sends power through-out 32 counties in Kansas known as Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. Jana Horsfall, the VP for Corporate Services, gave us a more in-depth look at where this power comes from and how it all is dispersed. There are 6 member-owners in the state that help manage the 124 substations that distribute and step-down the power to different communities in Western Kansas. Natural Gas is the main source of power and accounts for 58 percent of Sunflower’s Power Portfolio, however, Coal power from the Holcomb Station still plays a critical role and accounts for just shy of 27 percent of the portfolio. This station is powered from coal that is mined out of the Powder River Basin in Southeast Wyoming and travels by rail to Holcomb.
After lunch we heard from LeAnn Brown, Manager of Organizational Development, she spoke with our class about Sunflower’s Leadership Program and about Sunflower Electric’s Leadership Competency Model. The expectation is for all employees to exhibit the core values: Technical Competency, Respect and Dignity, Accountability, Integrity, Trustworthiness and Servant Leadership. It was impressive to see the amount of effort and care that Sunflower puts into its employees. “When we combine all employees’ strengths and talents, we have a more efficient, effective organization.”
After wrapping up our discussion with Jana and LeAnn, we went to the Garden City Water Park to hear about Economic Development and the growth in Finney County from Lona DuVall, the president of Finney County Economic Development. Lona spoke with us about the importance of immigration to Finney County, over 50% of the population is Hispanic. She explained to us what a Healthy Population Pyramid looks like and why that is critical to be a sustainable community. She also helped us better understand what it takes a complete team pulling in the same direction to accomplish some of the projects that have happened in Finney County. It takes communication between administration officials and companies, honesty with each other, and perseverance to get the job done, no matter what. Garden City and Finney County are perfect examples of what can happen when people decide to work together for the greater good and use the resources at hand to make something positive happen.
Larry & Becky Jones, who live outside of Holcomb, were gracious enough to invite our class into their home for supper that evening, and we enjoyed some delicious Brisket. Larry graduated from Class II of KARL and is an ardent supporter of the program. After supper, we heard from Dr. Mel’s on the Intangibles to Success in Life & Leadership. Dr. Mel’s talked about the importance of being true to yourself and your team. “You must be honest with the people around you if you expect them to give you their all.” He shared a couple of personal stories that helped us relate to what he meant. Following the discussion with Dr. Mel’s, we headed east back to the hotel and arrived around 9:30 pm.
It was a long day that was full of information and experiences that will take time to fully digest but overall, I cannot believe what is happening in Southwest Kansas. Before this Session, I did not fully understand the amount of diverse industry happening in Finney County and what it takes to make it all happen. It is truly an inspiring story of determination, grit, and community.
Economic Development Day Three
Friday, November 8, 2019
Submitted by Jessica Ebert
Our last day in western Kansas was kicked off by touring Royal Farms Dairy by Kyle Averhoff, Co-owner, and manager. There are currently two locations that employ 85 people milking 9,000 cows and have 9,500 replacement heifers. Kyle is the third generation to milk cows. He believes it is good to do things very young. Whether that is to work, borrow money, run machinery, etc. All dairies believe this.
He grew up in Stephenville, Texas and went to Tarleton, University. To further his education, he went to Florida for his masters. He started his career working for Monsanto in California before moving back to Kansas.
He wanted to run Royal Farms like he owned it and if it didn’t work then fire him. The dairy is running with these concepts. Be full, Be ethical, and good morals. Here at Royal Farms, they milk 6,500 cows and their other location Noble Dairy milks 2,500 cows. Recently they have purchased the farming operations from Irisk and now farm and milk at both locations. Producing 20,000 million gallons of milk a day milking 24 hours a day.
We believe in core principals to move ahead and for this culture. Take great care of cows and people. Their 85 employees are Latino, Guatemalan, and Mexican. Make sure it is done right. Execute Perfection. Good Ethics. They have a low turn over today due to building the culture up. They are Christian based. Operate with humility and very humble.
In 1999, there were 65,000 dairy farms in the US. In 2018, there were only 38,000 dairy farms in the US. That is an 8 ½ percent reduction in dairies. They are doing it with the same number of cows because they are passionate and love what they do. Add more cows and build more barns to continue to grow.
WindRiver Grain, LLC was our next stop for a tour. Charlie Sauerwein, Adam Watson, and Jeff Huggard graciously showed us around their grain bins and their operation. WindRiver Grain is a grain facility and 110 car BNSF mainline shuttle loader, focused on loading wheat and milo units to the gulf. Our current licensed storage capacity is 8,706,000 bushels. We are a relationship-based company that takes great pride in creating long-term partnerships and delivering value to our customers. The company was founded on September 17, 1997, as the first joint venture of its kind with Cargill, Inc. and four other local companies. WindRiver Grain operates as a stand-alone company with an entrepreneurial spirit. Most of our employees have agricultural backgrounds and enjoy serving ag customers.
They have the following grain companies as their owners. Cargill AgHorizons, Garden City Co-op, Inc., Sublette Cooperative, Inc., Irsik and Doll, and Scott Coop.
They also have Kansas Grain Inspection Service on-site providing grain grading services to WindRiver Grain.
Bonanza BioEnergy – Conestoga Energy Partners was up next for our tour. Jeff Gilbert, Plant Manager gave an overview of what they do.
Conestoga Energy takes over the management of Diamond Ethanol in Levelland, Texas. The ethanol plant has a production capacity of 40 million gallons per year.
Bonanza Bioenergy begins using Syngenta Enogen® corn, the first grain bioengineered specifically for the ethanol industry.
Arkalon Ethanol and Bonanza Bioenergy plants merge. Bonanza Bioenergy begins corn oil extraction.
TP & L was the last stop of our tour. Ryan Drummin the regional manager of Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota lead us through their operation.
