Activities: FFA

FFA Goes on Summer Ag Tour

by Tony Jensen

May 31, 2005

Twenty-one members of the Freeman FFA Chapter, as well as 3 sponsors, visited Northeast Nebraska during the dates of May 25-27th.

On Wednesday, the group departed Freeman Public Schools at 11 am and made their first stop in Clarkson, Nebraska to tour Bluebird Nursery. This nursery is one of the largest wholesale, perennial operations west of the Mississippi River. Highlights of the tour included seeing the mist room (where new cuttings are placed so roots are developed) and walking through a one acre greenhouse that contained 1 million plants.

Following the stop in Clarkson, the group got some ice cream in Albion and headed up to Elgin where they set up camp for the stay. Following a delicious supper, they got bundled up for an old-fashioned drive-in movie in Neligh. "Kicking and Screaming" and "Meet the Fockers" were showing.

The next morning, the group got up and traveled to Norfolk to tour the Norfolk Daily News, where they got to meet the ag director and visit with her about the job and the challenges newspapers face. Highlights of the tour included seeing a bundle of paper used to print the daily news on that, if rolled out, was 7 miles long, and seeing the different departments of the newspaper and how they interacted.

The group tours the ethanol plant in Plainview, owned by Husker Ag, where they get to see the ethanol at every phase of the process.

Following the newspaper, the group grabbed some lunch and headed to the ethanol plant east of Plainview. There, the operations manager showed the students the ethanol at different stages of the process and also showed the group one of the many byproducts of ethanol.

The next stop for the group was the rainbow trout rearing station near Royal, Nebraska. At this location, the workers receive trout 4-5" and grow them until they are 10-12" long. They then stock the local Verdigre Creek, Two Rivers State Recreation Area, and other areas as necessary.

Students get the opportunity to feed rainbow trout at the Grove Lake Trout Rearing Station near Royal.

The group rounded out the day by heading to Pibel Lake State Recreation area, near Bartlett where they had a hotdog cookout, had a chance to fish, and some took a walk around the lake. After arrival back in Elgin that night, most of the students went to the park to play sand volleyball until after dark and eventually called it a night.

On Friday, the group packed up and headed back to Adams. Most were tired from a busy couple of days and were ready to get home. A special thanks to Dennis Ebbers and Amy Ludwig for being sponsors, Bryan and Paula Jensen for your hospitality and food during our stay in Elgin, Elgin Public Schools for allowing us to shower and get ice in your facilities, and the tour guides for the information you shared throughout the trip.

"Overall, the trip was a great opportunity for students to see different parts of the state and see the different areas of agriculture right here in Nebraska," said Mr. Jensen. "The tours allow us to see things that we may or may not be able to see in southeast Nebraska."