Domestic Study Tour (Day 1)
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Submitted by Leigh Ann Maurath
Marysville welcomed KARL XV with open arms and excited to show us all they had to offer. From the outside looking in, it is easy to miss the people who are the game changers in their communities.. until you begin conversations with the community members themselves – they are fast to point to the leaders and show their thankfulness through their bragging words. I’m grateful for the opportunity to not just drive through and “tour” another rural community, but to observe the people and places that make it successful. It was clear the Landoll family cares about the community they have chosen to make home and we’re thankful they would choose to host us during this session.
As we walked through the Landoll plant, I saw classmates eyes widen and meaningful side conversations happen about honesty, ownership and the transparency the company demonstrated. Not only did the employees have the opportunity to buy into the company, they were also cared for and appreciated by their employers. The buzz of conversation on the buss after our tour there was tangible. They were creative. They started out small. And they are a group of hard workers who will clearly continue choosing innovation and service in their line of work.
The Landoll family recognize that they need people. And people need communities. As we drove the streets of Marysville, we saw a community designed for members of all ages, and much to the credit of the Landoll family. The library, church, bowling alley and school all spoke of their generosity and commitment to service and people.
I heard on the bus from a fellow classmate, that, “all communities need a Don.” And they do. This created space for us to have conversations about how we can take on that role in our own communities or how to create ownership amongst our neighbors like Don has in Marysville. It was also a valuable conversation starter for success planning. Are we creating something for our communities for today? Or are we as KARL participants going home to our communities and creating something that will last far beyond our lifetime. We all need people. And People need communities.
I may have also left wishing my community had decorative black squirrels on every street corner too…. Because community pride is a fun thing.
While in Marysville on our way to Nebraska, it was neat to see the curiosity of my fellow class members. The value of KARL is in the perspective of its participants.
Domestic Study Tour (Day 2)
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Submitted by Anthony Seiler
Day 2 of Class XV’s domestic study tour began at The Combine, and ag and food entrepreneurial incubator at the University of Nebraska’s Innovation Campus. The creation of The Combine goes began with a 2010 study completed by the state the found that almost all job creation comes from new business creation rather than recruiting existing businesses. They looked to how other states were helping create new businesses and allocated money to start a state funded venture capital and grants. To date they’ve invested $30 million in 100 startups through public private partnership. As they started this work they realized that they had both a competitive advantage and major reliance on the ag and food industry. However, relatively little venture capital money was being invested in these industries. The Combine incubator at the University of Nebraska was created to fill this gap. They subsidize office space in Lincoln and other locations in the state, provide education and program for entrepreneurs, and have a network of farmers around the state that can help advise start ups and help with initial trials and demonstrations. While the educational material could be found online The Combine provides structure, accountability and mentorship.
After the overview of The Combine two companies that are currently part of the program presented Grain Weevil and Corral technologies. Chad Johnson, a native Kansan, and founder of Grain Weevil described how his passion and background in education led he and his son to develop a robot that could take the place of human workers in grain bins to increase safety on farms and improve efficiency. He talked about how The Combine had been helpful with one on one curriculum that was available when he startup needed it and also the work they had helped them do with promotional videos and marketing. Their original focus was only on safety but as their exposure grew they realized what an impact they could have on grain quality as well. His “aha” moment was as their exposure grew they realized that 5% of the potential market was more than they could ever hope to possibly service. Their success is also bringing income to the rural Nebraska town they live in. Their prototypes are machined at a local shop as well as using local legal services.
Jack Keating of Coral Technologies is working on developing invisible fences for cattle and other livestock. He grew up on a cattle operation and designed the first concept for a class to help enable rotational grazing. He said The Combine and the peer network around it helped him decide to take the leap and try to make his product a reality rather than taking the easier route and getting a conventional job right out of college.
The final presenter at The Combine was from Burlington Capital which is a Midwest based venture capital focused on the ag and food value chain. Their mission is to change the landscape of VC that is based almost exclusively on the coasts and invest locally in the industry that is most important to the Midwest. Currently only 2% of venture capital is invested in any part of the food supply chain and they think through efforts like theirs they can help make the Midwest the hub of ag innovation.
After The Combine the class briefly toured the Maker Space next door which allows entrepreneurs, university students and the community to access tools and equipment in a community setting.
Following this tour the class loaded up and headed to Raymond Nebraska to visit Settje Agri-Services and Engineering. Settje also graciously provided lunch during the presentation. Dean Settje, the founder described how the business, begun in 1997 has expanded throughout the country and even internationally. They began as designers of feedlots and have expanded to cover all species. Their mission is to shape the world’s livestock production. In addition to design their services include strategic planning, engineering, general contracting, agronomy, manure management, and environmental compliance and permitting. One of Dean’s early insights was that while he may not agree with the policy around climate change, it created a need in the livestock industry to adapt and hopefully become more efficient. They’ve been working on carbon reduction and methane digesters for years and see carbon footprint evaluations as a key growth area for their business. During the Q&A the class asked how he has shaped their company culture over the last 20 years as they have grown so much. Dean responded that at first they were so busy they probably omitted it but that over the last five years this have become an important focus for them. They are intentional about having a culture of forward thinking. They’ve also invested in diversify the industries that they work in as well as improving their physical office space. If he wants to hire great people to continue growing they have to have a great culture as a company.
After lunch the class traveled back to Lincoln and visited the University of Nebraska’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. Tom Field, the program director, and several of his graduate assistants and students presented to the class. They began the session with an active learning demonstration where the class was broken into small groups and given a short amount of time to design a new wallet, build a prototype with arts and craft supplies and plan a one minute pitch. The time constraint pressured the groups to work together quickly, and had some hilarious results during the pitch presentations. The take away was to focus on the person you’re trying to create a product for, in this case one of the graduate assistants, rather than assuming what you think they will want. Tom Field described their program as a combination of renaissance guild, incubator and accelerator. They’re a hybrid, interdisciplinary program at the university that was formed 10 years ago and offers a minor. Their focus is on developing people with an entrepreneurial mindset more than creating companies. Their mission is to allow their students to courageously pursue their purpose and to build people who build companies and grow communities. In their curriculum they focus on starting business quick, early and cheap. They focus more on the process than the ideas themselves and let the market decide what is viable. The motto for starting student companies is fail forward, fail fast, fail cheap, and learn like crazy. They are seeing that a higher percentage of their graduates stay in rural Nebraska and in the ag industry.
The student panel from the Engler program described their experiences. They spoke to the Engler Fellowship which pays students to work as entrepreneurs rather than taking an internship. They also talked about how the program creates a culture of innovation and how it has equipped them to bravely pursue the things they are passionate about and give back to their communities. The program aims to create lots of small companies in rural Nebraska rather than few large companies in the big cities. It was clear that Dr. Field has had a tremendous impact on the program and it’s graduates. He was yet another example of the power of a charismatic leader that we encountered during the week.
The last stop for the day was at RealmV which is an ag technology company based in Lincoln. They work to help producers and others in agriculture connect their data and make the best use of it. Their name comes from the fifth major disruption, data and automation and their goal is to build the most trusted enterprise automation solutions globally. Much of their work has been focused on simplifying enterprises’ ability to use data for intelligent decision making. They want to make utilizing data in ag as easy as it is in other consumer tech where you can just open a box, plug in a unit and it works. They focus on building solutions to customers problems rather than building products in search of buyers.
After this full day the class had dinner in Lincoln’s Haymarket district, their equivalent to Aggieville. After dinner many of Class XV were able to enjoy some extracurricular libations and comradery while comparing the two universities bar districts.
Domestic Study Tour (Day 3)
Friday, November 5, 2021
Submitted by Allison Burenheide
KARL Class XV started their morning by walking across the street to the Hilton Garden Inn to enjoy a breakfast provided by Farm Credit Services of Kansas.
Bob Campbell, Senior Vice-President of Farm Credit Associations of Kansas spoke to our group about his leadership lessons and emphasized the importance of mentoring and coaching.
Campbell also shared insight regarding how the pandemic has impacted mentoring and coaching opportunities and the actions he has taken to evolve during this time as a leader.
Campbell ended his presentation by presenting each KARL Class XV member with a personalized pen.
Following breakfast, the class loaded onto our bus and departed to visit the Certified Piedmontese Beef location which houses their business offices, processing facility, store and their restaurant and event space (Casa Bovina).
KARL members were allowed the opportunity to tour their cold storage facility and watch as specialized orders were being processed. We were also able to take a peek into Casa Bovina as their chefs prepared for their day and also sitting down to visit with representatives to learn about the Piedmontese breed and the Certified Piedmontese Beef program.
The Piedmontese breed originated in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy and since being brought to the United States have primarily been raised on family ranches across the Midwest, especially in Western Nebraska. The leanness and tenderness of Certified Piedmontese beef is the result of the myostatin gene.
The USDA assigns quality grades to beef based on the presence of intramuscular fat (marbling) in a given cut, and not necessarily on the actual tenderness of a given cut, which is why their beef is NOT assigned USDA grades. Each animal is DNA tested to ensure its Piedmontese heritage and its resulting guaranteed tenderness. The leanness and tenderness of Certified Piedmontese beef is the result of the natural genetics of the animal, not the result of fatty marbling.
This breed is raised through a ranch-to-fork approach that ensures traceability, environmental sustainability, humane animal handling, and responsible resource management at every step. The beef is also well-known by chefs from across the country who rave about the exceptional quality and flavor profile of Certified Piedmontese beef.
Following our visit to Certified Piedmontese Beef, the class made their return to Manhattan, Kansas.
You must be logged in to post a comment.