Early bird gets the worm! Today was a long day… But a great one to remember. We started off the day by taking a tour at Triumph Foods. At this processing plant we had the amazing opportunity to experience an exclusive inside tour of how a billion dollar business harvests a little over 21,000 head of swine in a single 24 hour period. At this plant I think I can speak for my fellow class mates, as we were all overwhelmed with the sure quantity of Triumph Foods’ operation. We saw the kill floor from start to finish and the processing of all the cuts of pork to the boxes they were packaged into. Triumph Foods works really hard at keeping their livestock calm before slaughter and they actually use carbon dioxide chambers to render them unconscious. This is a 90 second process that leaves the pigs brain dead, allowing the entire harvesting process to be the done safely and humanly. All in all, I was extremely impressed with the entire operation. I wish “nay sayers” would really give harvesting plants the opportunity to see how well managed livestock harvesting can be. I thought I knew what to expect before going on the tour and I still was amazed with what we saw!
Our second stop was at Green Dirt Farms, a sheep dairy. This was a small scale farm that was out of the ordinary. I appreciated the change from what we had seen from the last couple of tours. The sheep dairy was very similar to a usual cattle dairy. We also had the chance to taste different sheep cheeses that they make on the farm. I personally do not like trying new things. Being honest. I was brave and tried all of the different blends of sheep cheeses. I will say I am not a fan, but some girls fell in love and I thought that was really cool we could all try new tastes. I suggest trying their products, just to say you did.
The final tour of the day was with Lewis Seeds and Monsanto Field Plots. We looked at different soybean and corn crops that are being studied for their different traits in regards to RoundUp ready plants. This stop was fun because we had the chance to ask the speakers some one on one questions about both crops. Since we are not from the Midwest, obviously, it was nice to be able to “pick their brains” about how their farmers harvest both soybean and corn crops. The most interesting challenge they talked about was how strange their weather patterns have been this year and how the weather has really effected their growing season. I thought it was very interesting that their biggest problem this year was that they were getting TOO MUCH RAIN!!!! It was really interesting to hear their side of the changing weather pattern complaints. Hopefully the West Coast can take this extra rain off their hands!
Before I forget, the best part of today was that we went to St. Joe Boot. Which was a western clothing store that we put under attack with all 17 girls on this trip! The store owners are very happy we stopped to say hello. I am having a great time with everyone on this trip and tomorrow we have a lighter day, so it looks like we might have some free time to explore the state!
Until we meet again.
