The 2010 MoKan Chapter Ag Tour on August 17 was a resounding success.  Not only did the attendees experience a lot of variety, but it also fell during a one-day upper 70s cool down from the two weeks of +100˚ heat that the Kansas City area had been experiencing.

The first stop was at a row crop and hog farm operation owned by Steve and Sharon Oetting, in Richmond, Missouri.  They are the 7^th generation on the farm, which began in 1839.  One of the sows gave birth during the tour, adding a little extra excitement.

The bus then carried everyone to Carrollton, Missouri, to visit Pence Aerial Service at the Carrollton Airport.  After viewing a video from the National Agricultural Aviation Association, Dale Pence answered questions and gave an aerial demonstration with a liquid version of fertilizer.  Attendees were able to view the global positioning system in the cockpit afterwards.  Ag pilots have a 2-to-3 year wait for new air tractors.  Eighty-eight percent of aerial applications are made by airplane and 12% by helicopter.  Pilots, who must wear protective helmets, must have both a commercial pilot’s license and a commercial pesticide license.  There are only 6,000 such operations within the United States.

The final stop was at Ray Carroll County Grain Growers, a combination ag retailer, grain elevator and ethanol plant just outside Carrollton, Missouri.  As the tourists donned hardhats and eye protection, they were taken through the various grain storage areas.  In addition to grain storage, the site also has various pieces of agricultural equipment, which is often rented out to farmers.  The arms on one of the sprayers were extended to their full 120’ span to give a first-hand look at the breadth of that machine’s reach.  Fertilizer prescriptions are another option that farmers take advantage of there.  Adjacent to the grain elevators is an ethanol plant that processes 19 million bushels of corn annually for ethanol.  One hundred percent of the corn comes from the two local counties; and the byproducts of the corn are also processed.  The grain storage portion began 15 years ago, with the ethanol plant going live just 3 years ago.