Blue Chip, Day One
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 – Manhattan
The KARL class XIV gathered together at the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) in Manhattan to begin our Blue Chip Seminar. We started the first day of our Blue Chip Seminar with a presentation with Josh Roe the vice-president of Market Development and Policy with Kansas Corn to review Animal Agriculture and Kansas economy. The presentation covered not only Agriculture and Kansas economy but also Kansas specific rankings, Animal Agriculture impact, and last but not least export. Some fun facts that we observed while Josh Roe was presenting to the KARL class XIV were Kansas is ranked second (2nd) in the nation for cattle and calves plus top ten (10) for milk production and hog production. Also observed was that the animal agriculture industry is nearly as big as the aeronautic industry. Another observation was in Twenty-Seventeen (2017) exports of agriculture commodities accounted for 34.2%. The top three (3) items were mainly raw meat then cereal grain and oilseed. The top three (3) countries that we export to was Mexico, Japan, and Canada.
Josh Roe brought up some things to consider that brought up discussions on corporation agriculture laws and on the presence of the National Bio-Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) coming in next door to Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). Also had a discussion on the growth of agriculture and processing of meat.
Blue Chip, Day Two
Day 2, Thursday, February 7, 2019
Chair: Jordan Hilderbrand, Manhattan
Review Submitted by Scribe: Melissa Bergkamp, Kingman
The Bowersock Mills & Power Company
Sarah Hill-Nelson, President
Bowersock Mills & Power Company of Lawrence is the only hydroelectric plant in Kansas,. “To date, this is the most economical form of energy being produced that we know of, with zero pollution,” shared Sarah Hill-Nelson.
Blue Chip, Day Three
Friday, February 8, 2019 – Ceva and Merck
Our first stop for the final day of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor session was a visit with Ceva Animal Health at their global headquarters location in Lenexa, KS. We met with two key leaders – Craig Wallace, CEO and Jodi Donahue, Director of Marketing.
After introductions, Mr. Wallace provided an overview of Ceva Animal Health from its inception in 1999 to their current portfolio of vaccines and pharmaceutical products for pets, poultry, ruminants and swine species. Ceva currently has 5500 employees and is ranked #6 of the top 10 largest animal health companies.
