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INTERNATIONAL TRADEInternational Trade Seminar (Cowley County / Wichita) February 7, 2007 – Scribe, Brian Wilborn, Kingman
KARL Class VIII gathered at the Cowley County College Industrial Training room at Strother Field near Winfield to begin the International Trade Seminar. The day started off with a Hog Wild BBQ lunch sponsored by the Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Cooperative.
Gene Latham and Dr. Rex Friesen spoke to the group about the cotton industry and Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Coop. Gene is Customer Service / Investor Relations Manager of the coop, and Rex is an entomology crop consultant. Cotton is currently grown in at least 30 counties in Kansas. Prior to 1995 fewer than 3,000 acres of cotton were planted, but by 2006 there were approximately 150,000 acres planted in Kansas. The Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Gin was started in Winfield in 1996. The gin in Anthony was built in 1999. Cotton gins were added in Moscow and Cullison in 2002 and 2004. These four gins handled approximately 140,000 bales of cotton in 2006. Mr. Latham estimated the local value of cotton to be over $38 million by the time its value is "multiplied".
Dick Cooper of the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA) gave the group a presentation on marketing cotton. PCCA is a cotton marketing coop headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, and is one of the largest handlers of U.S. cotton, marketing 3 million to 5 million bales annually. As a side note, Lubbock receives 15-18 inches of rain annually while Winfield receives around 35 inches. The majority of Kansas grown cotton is marketed through the pool, where PCCA markets for the farmer, and they often get a better price.
One bale of cotton can provide 330 pairs of jeans, or 1,217 men’s shirts, or 764 dress shirts, or 896 woven blouses, or 542 women’s skirts, or 328 women’s jeans, or 3,015 baby diapers, or 782 terry bath towels, or 7,820 men’s handkerchiefs, or 484 men’s dress pants, or 373 men’s work pants, or 180 men’s overalls, or 210 sheets, or 1,210 pillow cases.
The class then traveled to the gin to learn how the gin process works. Unfortunately, the gin was not operating, but the experience was valuable nonetheless.
The class traveled to Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City. Creekstone processes only natural and premium Black Angus beef. They primarily service high end restaurants. The BSE discovery in 2003 and the import ban by Japan have had a dramatic negative effect on their business. Creekstone has the capacity to process 300 head of cattle per hour, but is only processing around 150 head per hour today. They process 4 days per week.
Creekstone built a lab to test 100% of its beef for BSE in an effort to reopen the Japanese market. Theoretically other Asian countries would follow, but Creekstone has met tremendous opposition to this attempt. Both from the USDA and from other processing companies.
The class traveled to Mulvane for an evening dinner and program at Wyldewood Cellars, hosted by KARL Class VII graduate John Brewer. Wyldewood Cellars is a Brewer family owned and operated winery. The winery is known for its Elderberry Wines, but Wyldewood Cellars also producers many other types of wines, jellies, and syrups. The class enjoyed tasting many variations of wine made from multiple fruits.
The class enjoyed a program on International Trade presented by Karen Paige, President & CEO of the Kansas World Trade Center. Their mission is to promote and facilitate trade in the state of Kansas through education, research, and communication. Some 2000 companies in Kansas trade internationally. In 2005 $7 billion in exports provided nearly 140,000 jobs. Agriculture is the primary industry in Kansas and accounts for much of our international trade.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 – Scribe, Jeff Morgan The morning started with a transfer from the comfortable motor coach to the cold air force bluebird bus. Matt Tulis, a civilian contractor serving in public affairs, introduced himself and directed our attention to the first KC135 ever built by Boeing in Wichita as we drove through the base gates. McConnell Air Force Base is home to 3000 active duty and 10,000 civilian airmen. On the flight line of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing we met Captain Jeff Taylor, Co-Pilot Adam Defelice, and Boom Operator Vince Maiuri. After a brief introduction and overview of the 1960 model KC135 each airman took a group from our class and explained their job function and showed us the features of the refueling jet. The jet requires a minimum three man crew and all of our guides have been serving both stateside and in Iraq recently. The deployment schedule is running about 2-3 months stateside and 60-70 days deployed. Captain Taylor provided the cockpit tour and explained some of the consol upgrades with the new digital displays including GPS technology. The technology advances have allowed the phasing out of the navigator position for most missions. He also discussed that as a trainer they are always training including during desert missions. Most missions are 3 to 12 hours and are referred to as sorties. Co-Pilot Defelice discussed general missions and capacities of the aircraft. When deployed they have been stationing out of the United Arab Emirates. The KC135 requires a minimum runway of 7000 feet and must be paved to the full width. The maximum take off weight is 335,000 pounds and it can carry 200,000 pounds of fuel in integrated tanks spread around the plane to allow the active management of the weight distribution. The plane is generally operated at 9 miles per minute and burns approximately 10,000 pounds of fuel per hour. Boom Operator Maiuri allowed us to view the boom station at the rear of the plane where the boom is lowered and guided to link two aircraft and allow the transfer of 6,000 pounds of fuel per minute or nearly 1000 gallons per minute. The flow control is full on or full off and there are automated pop off valves if the receiving plane is full or connection is lost. Generally, they have scheduled offloads and dump a predetermined amount. In addition to the rear boom the jet has two wing pods that allow them to fuel navy planes and some ally planes that are not compatible with the boom. Vince shared with us that he is 25 years old and has been in the Air Force 5 years. He has spent 4 years as boom operator and been to Iraq for 5 tours. He shared that things were much more comfortable in Iraq now compared to in the earlier years of deployment with amenities such as swimming pools and gyms at the base. After thanking the Airmen for there service and time we loaded the bus to go to the 22nd Engineering Explosive Ordinance Disposal where we met Airmen Farley, Lance, and Baze. They had just received a new Segway for use to conserve energy while wearing the 90 pound bomb suit. The bomb suit has 5 speaker surround sound, lights, cooling/air system, water circulating under suit for personal cooling, and can withstand the blast of a 5 pound explosive detonated five foot from it.
They discussed with us the use of remote control robotics to protect EOD personnel while disarming bombs or IED’s. They showed us the ARTS vehicle similar to a tracked skid steer with a bucket, back hoe and 90M water cannon capable of blowing holes in vehicles. The F6 and Rines had every function of a human arm and could lift between 15 to 100 pounds dependent upon model. They also discussed the Packbot and Talloon model robotics. To finish the tour of EOD we went to their training room where they showed us some examples of the IED’s encountered in the war on terror and discussed state side missions of disarming souvenirs found in the homes of WWII veterans and sweeping areas for the safety of dignitaries. After thanking the Airmen and Matt Tulis once more we loaded our bus and headed for Raytheon. While enjoying the ride across Wichita we discussed the military influence on international trade by protecting our national interests and trade routes. Rob Luallen was our tour guide on the 1 square mile campus of the manufacturing plant at Raytheon. This plant is home of several models in the Kingair, Hawker, and Beechcraft lines. The plant is set up in assembly line fashion where the plane is started on the south end of the building and moved through work stations until exiting the north end of the building ready for final inspection. They focus processes to improve efficiency of just in time parts delivery, warehouse management, employee safety and productive output. The Kingair is a 60 year old model and nearly completely fabricated on site. Many of the newer models have parts produced off site and shipped in including metal wings from Fuji Japan. The new composite fuselages were discussed in relation to technological advancements and the certification of new designs. International sales were estimated at 25 percent of annual sales, and it was noted that NetJet was noted as a large purchaser of several of the models produced in Wichita. The group enjoyed a good meal at the Fox and Hound before heading to Cargill Meat Solutions.
Cargill Meat Solutions employs 65 scientists and support staff individuals in Wichita and has the ability to replicate all processes of production facilities other than harvesting at its on site pilot plant. We were welcomed by a group of upper management to the facility and exposed to much of their corporate culture and philosophy through the afternoon and evening. KARL Graduate and International Team Leader Chris Trumble was our coordinator. Scott Eilert, VP and Director of Meat Technology Development said Cargill’s focus is to be the partner of choice by 2015 by dedicating development resources to specific customers to develop specific proprietary products for their business through research and development to help their customers grow their business. Some of the areas of research include packaging, tenderness, retail display, and value added cuts. Tour coordinators were (KARL graduate) Meghan Mueseler and Emily Schlickau (wife of Class VIII member Gabe). We viewed the labs, coolers, sensory cabinets and the new culinary center. Stacy Lacey discussed Cargill Cares and its focus on purposeful giving, nutrition and health, education, environmental stewardship, and employee engagement. Two of it most noted accomplishments were the AVID program in North Wichita schools and the Cargill Learning Center at the Sedgwick County Zoo. Cary Humphries and Stan Miller discussed the Cargill Leadership model, and the scope of Cargill Meat Solutions as the second largest fed beef processor, fourth largest pork processor, and the largest processor of fresh whole turkeys. This size makes international markets extremely important to Cargill and the issues of closed boarders to U.S. beef were discussed. Kent Harrison discussed the domestic industry and specifically brand development in the retail meat case. The focus in customer service is to bring your customers back by following the three commandments of producing product according to specifications, being responsive to customer needs, creating demand for the products. KARL director Jack Lindquist presented Cargill Meat Solutions President, Tom Hayes, with a Pacesetter Award for the $20,000 contributed to KARL Class VIII. Hayes explained that Cargill’s connection to KARL provides mutual benefits in employee, producer and consumer educational experiences. Tom Hayes addressed the class for 30 minutes regarding trade issues, Cargill’s expansion into ethanol and a glimpse into the future of the beef industry. After an interactive panel discussion with the executives we adjourned to the showcase kitchen where three culinary chefs with amazing credentials and experience prepared an amazing meal with flavors from around the globe featuring beef, pork, and turkey. After an unbelievable day we retired to the hotel where we prepared our curriculums for the Ag in the Classroom experience on Friday.
Friday morning, February 9, 2007 - Scott Vander Hamm, Scribe
Friday morning we were greeted by the continued cold, winter Kansas weather. KARL Class VIII departed early for Holy Savior Catholic Academy (grade school) in Wichita for an educational morning of “KARL in the Classroom”. The class split up into 4 groups, responsible for educating each of the 4 different grade levels, 4/5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th grades, on 4 topics concerning agriculture in Kansas. Food Safety
and Nutrition
The food safety and nutrition presentation started off with a video entitled “The Scrub Club” which was obtained via USDA’s website. Due to the shortened timeframe, we only showed a few minutes of the video before moving onto the next activity. For the next phase the kids were split into two groups. One group started at the glow-germ station. By using a special lotion and a black-light, the kids were shown how germy their hands were. Then they used a hand sanitizer and were shown how many germs were killed and how much cleaner their hands were. The other group started at the Food Pyramid station. This group was split into two more groups and we asked nutritionally based questions. The group that got the most questions correct, won. After the class was finished with their first activity; they switched and completed the other activity. The kids were then provided with a booklet that gave them more info on food safety and nutrition. If time allowed, we asked the kids if they had any questions and then dismissed them to go to the next presentation. Value Added
Products We broke our presentation into three parts, discussing corn, soybeans, and wheat. For each crop, we covered planting, growth, and harvest and then moved on to talk about value added products. Examples of each crop and some value added items were passed around for all to see. The students handled (and some tasted) each commodity. One of the activities that got the most attention was the comparison of the Styrofoam packing peanut compared to one made of corn starch. Each were put in a bottle of water. A student volunteer shook the bottle for 10 seconds. The Styrofoam peanut did not change but the corn starch packing peanut disintegrated into a froth in the bottle. The students clearly understood the biodegradable nature of starches from crops and how they were good for the environment. Animal Science
Matthew Welsh
- Chair
The Animal Science group conducted a very enlightening presentation, covering animal agriculture. One of the highlights for all the classroom participants was the wooden, but life-like and life-sized cow that allowed the group illustrate how a cow functions in converting feed into milk and even a baby calf. The Dr.’s of the class followed with an illustration showing how animal production works on the farm. Environment
The Environment team was one member short on Friday morning as the team leader, Doug Gerber, was called to be with his wife as they welcomed new daughter, Tessa, into their family. Although short-handed, our group did proceed with a spirited game of Environmental Jeopardy for each of the 4 classes. We started by detailing some of the environmental issues facing rural America today, and then followed the information with the Jeopardy game, which pitted each class into 4 teams each. The kids were very competitive answering the Environmental answers with questions, in true Jeopardy format. Following the classroom presentations, Chair for the day, Don Beesley addressed all of the students with a presentation of KARL, its class members and the importance of agriculture in America today.
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"With Leadership Comes Responsibility" |
