Ag Innovation Forum Addresses The “Why?”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (February 24, 2020) – The question why came up in various forms during the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City’s 2020 Ag Innovation Forum held in the KC Chamber of Commerce Board Room at Union Station. In his keynote remarks, Dr. Jim Carrington, president of St. Louis-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, suggested the science community needed to be explaining why it was researching something instead of describing what it was doing. A practical reason to focus on the why, he said, was that projects “don’t get vested without a Why.” Investors want to know why a platform, a chemistry, a robotic or such is being developed. Dr. Carrington also noted scientists need to keep an eye on the prize: That science should forge economic engines.    

The Forum’s closing keynoter, Dr. Michael Helmsetter, president and CEO of TechAccel in Kansas City had a different spin on the Why. He was asking why the Kansas City ag and animal health industry didn’t have a bigger “stake in developing” the area’s ag science innovation, given all the existing talent, capabilities and infrastructure. “We’re the ag leader in the Midwest.” He said there is “a lot of investment capital in the ag space” but other regions are attracting a larger share. He pointed to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, perhaps influenced by the success of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, that is funding ag-related projects in St. Louis.  “Money attracts money,” Dr. Helmsetter said, with the implication that the Kansas City region needs to step up.

As speakers and panel moderators commented on advances in ag tech, Dr. Dan Thomson, Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, offered insightful food for thought to the proceedings. “There are two groups that don’t care about science and food,” he stated, “the rich and the poor.” Why? Because, he explained, “The rich err to the side of safety because they can afford it and the poor just want to eat.” Poverty is determined by the price of food, he added.  “If we make snap decisions that increase the cost of food production without increases in wages for people,” he went on, “we will increase poverty in our country – which not only increases food insecurity but decreases the value of SNAP coupons which decreases the value of taxes paid by American citizens.”    

Host and emcee for this year’s Ag Innovation Forum, Chelsea Good, vice president government and industry affairs and legal, Livestock Marketing Association, concluded the event with a question of her own. Wrapping up the proceedings, she cited the industry expertise of both the speakers and the audience. “As we leave the hall today, we’re energized and excited about the future of technology in agriculture,” Good said. “But are we solving problems, offering solutions to problems farmers don’t think they have?”    

This year’s Forum featured three panels: Academic – Promising Projects in the Pipeline; Entrepreneur –New Market Technology; and Using Data – Blockchain, Traceability, Precision Ag.

Promising Projects in the Pipeline

• The Academic Panel moderator Dr. Dan Thomson, said that sustainable farming processes face challenges from multiple agendas and advocacy groups. 

• Dr. Tom Spencer, animal science professor at the University of Missouri, talked about gene editing – specifically CRISPR gene editing for fitter, healthier and more productive food animals. Describing advances in gene editing, he said “Any type of modification that can be designed can be made. “ All phenotypes can be modified; natural alleles can be added; novel genes can be added. The holdup in advancing his science further, said Dr. Spencer, was governmental foot-dragging, i.e. which agencies would have oversight; what regulations would be implemented.

• Amy Hilske, director of the University of Nebraska’s Innovation Greenhouse, described her facility as a testing ground for optimizing yield and crop efficiencies.  “We are developing cheaper, more user friendly technologies to aid farmers and managers with their decision making process,” she said.  

• Dr. Justin Siegel, associate professor, University of California-Davis’ Genome Center, explained that advances in genetic technologies now allow everyone to read and write in the language of biology. “We can now communicate with the world we live in and build a better world. 

New Market Technology

• The Entrepreneur Panel moderator Kevin Lockett, partner and CFO of Fulcrum Global Capital, identified one of the challenges ag entrepreneurs and startups face is understanding how difficult it is to measure things in the field and aggregate the data. But technology can address most of that. Unfortunately, the wealth of ideas, innovations and platforms for new technology outnumber the opportunities for accessing capital.

• Dr. Brad Fabbri, chief science officer at TechAccel, explained how farmers face the added difficulty of “having only one shot a year at a successful crop or profitable herd. “As technology innovators, we can come up with the technology, but we have to know what the farmer wants.” TechAccel’s business model includes three key steps:  1) Identifying, licensing and investing in technology sources; 2) Continuing to advance the science and technology; 3) Deliver it for commercialization and monetization.

• Pete Nelson, executive director, AgLaunch Initiative, said ag needs to reach success markers at various development stages earlier than other industries because ag’s product is so important. “Food is important,” he stressed, “I look for future ag technology to be developed quicker.”

• Trish Cozart, program manager, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, Colorado, talked about how NREL provides technology incubation programs that use the deep expertise at world class laboratories to push innovation forward.

Block Chain, Traceability, Precision Ag

• The Data Panel moderator Doug Dresslaer, director of cultural innovation, Dairy Farmers of America, launched a wide-ranging discussion when he asked panelists what is fueling precision ag’s growth. Where is it coming from?

• Andy Brudtkuhl, director of emerging technology, National Pork Board, said the “advanced, disruptive technology is coming in from Silicon Valley, as expected.” But while the platforms are effective, there are drawbacks and problems that are more attributable to cultural or community conditions than to technological/engineering shortcomings. What the Silicon Valley crowd didn’t grasp, is that that it is one thing to design a sensor, scanner or counter that can collect large amounts of data.  “But it’s another,” he quipped, “to use it accurately when pigs are rushing off trucks.” And another thing, he added, is not all farmers are as enamored with big data and are especially concerned about how well its protected.

• Orlando Saez, founder and CEO, Aker Technologies, warned that an emerging problem in the big data business is that there is no middle market for successful startups.  “If you’re good, you get bought.” Then the bigger companies tend toward complacency, hampering further technological advancement. 

• Matt Teagarden CEO, Kansas Livestock Association, outlined the U.S. cattle industry’s need for a national end-to-end cattle disease traceability system, which provides critical tools to manage a disease outbreak and may provide opportunities to add value to the industry.

Digging Deeper...

Farmers in more than a dozen states were kept from their fields this year, the wettest on record, well into fall.  According to the Army Corps of Engineers, most of the runoff came from tributaries without levees or dams, so there was no way to slow the surge and little time to warn farmers. “It just completely overwhelmed the levees downstream,” said Matthew Krajewski, chief of the readiness branch in the Corps’ Omaha District.  Be that as it may, the lack of emphasis on flood control over the past 20-plus years and the current inadequate infrastructure must be addressed as a national priority, says Tom Waters, a seventh-generation farmer, member of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, Chairman of the Missouri Levee & Drainage District Association and a speaker at Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City events. The crisis for farmers is compounded beyond the fact that they can’t get back on their fields to plant: Without proper, approved and completed levees, farmers crop insurance premiums for 2020 plantings could triple.  From an interview with Tom Waters about his testimony July 2019 before a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation  and Infrastructure by Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC, December 2019.

Missouri, Midwest Looks For Improved Flood Control

The media and insurance industries were calling last winter and spring’s floods in the Midwest an Act of God. But more sober assessors of the situation now are referring to these natural disasters – that caused more than $3 billion in damages and lost income – as acts of negligence. 

“Unfortunately, flooding events like this are becoming too common,” says Blake Hurst, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau and third generation farmer in Northwest Missouri. “We must address weaknesses in flood control structures and strengthen our ability to prevent flooding. The time has come to have a serious discussion about protecting our farms, rural communities and critical infrastructure,” he noted late last spring. 

That discussion is underway, with renewed urgency and seriousness.  Last May, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced two pieces of legislation to address persistent issues farmers have encountered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers related to flood control and damage mitigation. The first bill would ensure farmers are participants in any Corps decision-making that directly impacts their farms and communities. Sen. Hawley’s second bill is a companion piece to U.S. Representative Sam Graves’ House act that would make flood control the overarching and number one priority in the Corps’ Master Manual; it would remove fish and wildlife as an authorized purpose. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt is a co-sponsor.

Missouri lawmakers contend the Corps currently has eight goals in its Master Manual that are vie against with one another for attention and priority, creating confusion  when it comes to managing rivers. The objectives are not prioritized, and include flood control, navigation, water supply, water quality control, irrigation and recreation, fish and wildlife. 

These legislative  measures introduced last spring, unfortunately, appear to be moving through Congress about as fast as last spring’s deluge of floodwaters  are receding. Which is to say:  Not very.  Hurst commented that nothing moves in Washington; and made note of the situation that by mid-December waters in some area were only just now dipping below flood levels – nine months after the levees were breached and lands were swamped. 

Mission Changed

Tom Waters says a big part of the current flooding problem is a result of a federal omnibus mandate assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers in 1973 with passage of the Endangered Species Act. The Corps’ early mission was to build a network of flood control systems on the nation’s rivers

The Endangered Species Act required the Army Corps of Engineers to make major changes to its Master Water Control Manual, which some environmental groups saw as an opportunity to take over management of the river.  They pressed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get involved.  “Three threatened and endangered species were identified and the power of the endangered species act would soon cause a dramatic shift in the way the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operated the system,” Waters says. 

Writing a piece specifically about the Missouri River last spring, Waters pointed out that in 1944, Corps engineers began shaping  the  lower river to provide navigable waterways to move products up and down the river. Flood control structures were designed to provide 300 feet wide, nine feet deep channels. “For decades the flood control and navigation system brought great economic benefits to the Missouri River Basin,” Waters wrote. “These two primary purposes also allowed for other benefits to develop such as water supply, hydropower, irrigation, water quality control and recreation, which includes fish and wild life.”

After passage of the Endangered Species Act, however, instead of using the highly engineered system for flood control and navigation as originally designed, Waters explains, the Corps of Engineers found itself dismantling the system piece by piece through increased dike notching and conducting experiments for the Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Make Flood Control The Priority

Tom Waters glibly describes The Flood of 2019, as “The Flood of 1973 - 2019.”  Dike notching began in 1973, he said, the first of many changes to the original river design.  In 2004, congress approved changes to the Corps’ Missouri River Master Water Control Manual which in effect defrocked it of its original and primary purpose of flood control. “Instead, the Corps is forced to try to balance all the purposes of the system to the determent of its ability to provide flood protection.”

Flood control was the original purpose for building the system back in 1944, Waters points out, and flood control is even more necessary today than it was then.  “The system has been modified to reduce flood control rather than improve flood control.  The tipping point has been reached and people have suffered enough. The key is for Congress to make flood control the priority.”

Easier Said Than Done

Making flood control the top priority for management of the Missouri River should be easy for Congress to do, Waters believes. His argument makes sense:  In the aftermath of flood after flood along the Missouri River, Congress continues to shell out millions of dollars for recovery – so wouldn’t it be wiser for Congress to spend money up front to prevent the damages in the first place?  “Improving infrastructure now can reduce or eliminate the expense of recovery later.”

Waters underscores Blake Hurst’s observation that things don’t get done quickly inside the Beltway. It will take the entire Congress fix flood control. In the affected region there are only four governors, eight senators and 19 congressional representatives, he notes.  “That doesn’t pull a lot of weight on Capitol Hill.”  He thinks local governors need to recruit at least 20 states to back real flood control initiatives and get some real traction in Congress. “The decline of our flood control infrastructure is not limited to the Missouri River,” say Waters.  “Flooding occurs nearly every day somewhere in the United States.”

Excerpts From Tom Waters’ Written Testimony Before A Hearing Of

THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

July 10, 2019

“WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ACTS:

STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSING FUTURE NEEDS”

“The 2019, Missouri River Flood is not over. High flows on the Missouri River will continue well into summer as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to release water from the mainstem reservoir system in the Upper Missouri River Basin.  In addition to the mainstem system, reservoirs in Kansas and in the Missouri Osage Basins have an over abundant supply of water, which will have to be released during the same time period.  These releases will combine to keep Missouri River flows above flood stage at most locations.  Any additional heavy rainfall will cause additional flooding.” 

“The, now infamous, “Bomb Cyclone” hitting Nebraska and South Dakota early this spring brought snow and heavy rain which overwhelmed the Missouri River flood control system.  The bomb cyclone was followed by a second round of heavy snow and rain later in the spring causing even more damage throughout the Missouri River Basin.  Levees have been overtopped, breached and eroded by the high-water event.  Communities have been inundated, homes and businesses lost and in rural areas, farmers have lost not only their homes, but also their 2018 crops stored in flooded bins, their machinery and their livestock.  Hopes for planting a crop this year have dwindled away as the river continues to scour across flooded fields.”

“Flooding in the Midwest impacts the entire country.  The Missouri Department of Transportation closed more than 470 different routes in 114 counties from April 29 to June 14.  Many remained closed today. Railroad tracks were washed out and train traffic was stopped and disrupted by delays and re-routing. Flooding hindered the movement of products through the states of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas with impacts across the entire nation.  Barge traffic on the Missouri River was also disrupted.”

“Flood control must be the number one priority for the management and operation of the Missouri River Reservoir System.  We have reached a tipping point and we can no longer continue to conduct failed experiment after failed experiment at the expense of people’s lives and livelihoods.  Missouri and Iowa farmland was not meant to be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s laboratory and midwestern farmers no longer want to be their guinea pigs.”

“The long list of flooding locations serves to remind us the lack of attention to flood control infrastructure over the past several years is a national problem, which impacts nearly every corner of the country. Floods do not discriminate. They do not choose democrats over republicans or vice versa.  Floods don’t choose rich over poor, north over south or east over west. Flood control is not a partisan issue.  It is an issue impacting the entire country and as such, the entire Congress should support prioritizing flood control infrastructure as money for infrastructure projects is appropriated.”

 “In conclusion, this committee needs to remain aware of the ongoing flooding along the Missouri River.  The flood is not over and the people of the Midwest and the River itself will need your leadership, guidance and support to recover from this devastating disaster.

• “Flood control must be the number one priority for the operation and management of the Missouri River.  Using the system for fish and bird experiments has degraded the effectiveness of the flood control system and costs our country billions of dollars. 

• “There is a nationwide need for improvements to the country’s flood control infrastructure. Improvements need to start here and now with this committee and with Congress.  The failure to address the need for flood control infrastructure will lead to more flooding of greater magnitude and frequency. 

• “Without flood control transportation and commerce are interrupted, sewer and water supply are put at risk, and some of the nation’s best farmland is left out of production.  Without flood control people’s lives are put at risk and yes, people die. Simply put, without flood control, nothing else matters.

The full text of Tom Waters testimony along with graphs, charts and illustrations is available here.

Ag Business Group Elects Krissek as 2020 Leader

December 17, 2019, Kansas City, MO – Greg Krissek, CEO of the Kansas Corn Growers Association and Kansas Corn Commission, was elected Chairman of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City at the group’s annual meeting held December 12.  Lee Blank, Executive Chairman of GFG Ag Services, was elected Vice Chairman.  

Krissek, a native of Kansas City, Kansas, has over 30 years’ experience working with agriculture and ethanol sectors.  Prior to being named CEO of Kansas Corn in 2014, his previous stints included executive positions with Kansas Department of Agriculture, ICM, Inc., and Kennedy and Coe. He earned his law degree and MBA from the University of Denver.  He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Rockhurst University in Kansas City.

The Council’s Board of Directors is composed of 20 persons who serve staggered two-year terms.  Those elected to the Board for terms commencing January 1, 2020 were: 

• Julie Abrahamzon, Cargill Animal Nutrition

• Tom Brand, National Association of Farm Broadcasting

• Chris Daubert, University of Missouri

• Nikki Hall, Corteva

• Terry Holdren, Kansas Farm Bureau

• Dustin Johansen, Osborn Barr

• Chris Klenklen, Missouri Dept. of Agriculture

• Kristie Larson, American Royal

• Paul Schadegg, Farmers National Company

• Stephanie Siders, CC Capital Advisers  

• Matt Teagarden, Kansas Livestock Association

Krissek extended his thanks to outgoing Chairman Bob Thompson with the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner law firm who stepped down after serving two terms as Chairman.  Krissek also recognized several leaders who have played an influential role in the Council’s activities through the years.  Those include outgoing board members Ben Breazeale, Brad Garrison, JJ Jones, Jackie McClaskey, Diane Olson, and Kristen Parman.

Digging Deeper ...

Having prevailed over a field of 135 cities and regions all contending to become the new home for USDA’s Economic Research Service and National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the Missouri/Kansas  organizers behind the effort to land ERS and NIFA in the KC area were entitled to take a breather. To smell the roses, strut a little. That wasn’t the case, though. Kimberly Young, president of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, told Agricultural Business Council members at the July 11 social hour at Stockyards Brewery, that the morning after the June 14 announcement, the real work was about to begin. On day one, she said her KCAHC team and the Kansas City Area Development Council uploaded a website for ERS and NIFA employees carrying dedicated information about housing, schools, churches, special needs services, community services, real estate – the list goes on – to make the transition easier for staff choosing  to relocate. 

The Hard Work Begins

Announcing the relocation last month of the ERS and NIFA from Washington D.C. to metropolitan Kansas City, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said, “We did not take these relocations lightly.” He was talking about the disruption it was causing some in the USDA rank and file, as well  others who were defending the Belt Way culture in general.  

Heartland agriculture and animal health leaders aren’t brushing aside the magnitude and challenge of the move, either. That’s why KCAHC president Kimberly Young and Tim Cowden, CEO of KCADC, and their organizations have been working for more than a month with USDA’s  ERS and NIFA staffers who have decided to move. The campaign entails an all-encompassing effort from about 300 local and regional organizations, groups, companies and universities that will make it easier for the ERS and NIFA and their employees to make the transition from the Belt Way to the Heartland.

The entire KC region has stepped up in a big way to ease the transition for ERS and NIFA employees who choose to make the move, notes KCAHC director Emily McVey. “In addition to designated relocation specialists, businesses from across the region are offering millions of dollars in exclusive discounts and complementary services including banks, schools, housing, auto, sports and entertainment, shopping and dining and employment services for ERS and NIFA employees and their families”

In response to USDA’s announcement that the Kansas City had been selected as the ERS and NIFA new home offices, KCAHC/KCADCorganizers said they were committed to being USDA’s partner during the entire relocation process and were ready to welcome the ERS and NIFA teams and “introducing them to KC’s incredible culture, robust scientific community and unprecedented access to the research, farm, agribusiness and financial customers they serve.”

Push Back

It is not an exaggeration to say the Kansas City region – with an almost two-century-old culture of farming and animal husbandry, its existing ag industry infrastructure and heavy concentration of animal health companies and its current deep federal footprint with the presence of a Federal Reserve Bank regional headquarters and 5,000 USDA employees and contractors already located in the area – was a shoe-in for selection.  (See “Box Score of a Successful Bid”)

Naysayers, however, have questioned the move. In May when the field of 136 candidate areas was narrowed to three sites, ERS employees voted to unionize in protest of the move. Many of them turned their backs on USDA Sec. Perdue during an employee meeting about the relocation.  Cynics in the media and inside the Belt Way seemed delighted to run headlines like this: “Fewer Than Half of USDA Workers Will Follow Agency to Kansas City,” KC Star, July 16, 2019. Other outlets ran stories with leads highlighting that the promised 500 jobs ERS and NIFA would bring would be more like 150 or so. What wasn’t thoroughly reported, however, is that USDA has encountered high staff turnover Washington D.C. in recent years because of high living costs and long commutes to work, according to Animal Pharm News, June 14, 2019. Further, reported AFN,  90% of USDA employees are already located outside the D.C. area

But local KCAHC/KCADC leaders pushed back, indicating the 500 jobs indeed would materialize. They pointed out that 13 land-grant universities and other research institutions in the region will annually produce top talent to fill key positions vacated by ERS/NIFA staff that did not take the option to move. “No one location in the U.S. offers a similar cluster of land grant access and diversity,” they said. “In 2017, these institutions granted more than a 150 PhDs in agricultural-related fields.”

Executive director of the American Statistical Association Ron Wasserstein wrote a Special to the Star op-ed piece, July 18, 2019, saying “when you add up all the evidence, we reach the conclusion that the USDA’s motivation is to sharply reduce the research the ERS produces.”  

But again, the KCAHC/KCADC team argues that themove out of D.C. is designed to make USDA the most effective, efficient and customer-focused department in the entire federal government. “What better place to do that than an affordable location like Kansas City in the epicenter of global agriculture? The KC region has a robust scientific research community, specifically as it relates to agriculture.”

As for their concerns about being detached from Washington D.C. and without direct access to lawmakers, skeptical ERS and NIFA staffers are being assured by Kansas City promoters of the relocation that they will not be isolated. The federal government is the largest employer in the Kansas City area – with 5,000 USDA employees and another 35,000 federal employees who work for 150 federal agencies across the metro. Also, notes the KC team, Missouri and Kansas  have a federal union presence with nearly 9% union membership in both states.  

What’s more, Atlanta-based CDC is a large, well-funded federal agency that operates effectively outside of the Washington D.C. area. And speaking of funding, the debt and budget deal struck last week by President Trump and Congressional leaders – to  revise the caps on defense and nondefense discretionary appropriations for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to allow for higher amounts of funding than is permitted under current law caps and budget enforcement procedures – should work in Sec. Perdue’s favor. 

Some Congressional House members were hoping to cut allocations USDA would have needed to relocate ERS/NIFA to the Heartland. That’s not likely, at this point. What is likely, though, is what KCAHC’s Kimberly Young emphasized at the happy hour earlier in the month: The move is going to happen.

Dennis McLaughlin
McLaughlin Writers LLC 

Box Score of a Successful Bid

Compiled by  
Kansas City Area Development Council and  Kansas City Animal Health Corridor

According to a USDA cost-benefit analysis, conservative estimates show the selection of the Kansas City region for the new home of its Economic Research Services and National Institute for Food and Agriculture will result in savings of around $300 million over a 15-year lease term on employment costs and rent – about $20m per year. These savings will allow the USDA to increase funding for research, as well as retain programs and employees – "even in the face of tightening budgets.”

• WHY KC

  • Because of Kansas City’s 100+ year legacy of leadership in the agriculture and animal health industries, this decision feels like a homecoming for the USDA. The USDA’s core strengths match the Kansas City region’s: agriculture, technology, engineering, finance, logistics, customer service and more.

  • Kansas City is already home to more than a dozen USDA agency operations. More than 5,000 USDA employees and contractors work in Kansas City for operations such as the Office of Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service and the Farm Service Agency. The Kansas City area also boasts 35,000 federal employees, and a robust Federal Executive Board serving the metro’s 150 federal agencies. 

  • With 56% of total worldwide animal health, diagnostics and pet food sales and 300+ animal health companies, the Kansas City region is home to the KC Animal Health Corridor (KCAHC). Major companies with a presence in the region include Bayer Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hills Pet Nutrition and Merck Animal Health.

  • Located in the middle of the Heartland, Kansas City is within 300 miles of 13 land-grant universities as well as top research universities. No one location in the United States offers a similar cluster of land grant access and diversity.In 2017, these institutions graduated more than 150 PhDs in an agriculturally-related field.

• KC’s RESEARCH CAPABILITIES

  • National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) – USDA’s foremost animal disease research facility in Manhattan, Kansas. Opening 2022-2023.

  • Kansas State University - a land-grant university and one of the leading ag research institutions in the nation. Discoveries at K-State have led to innovation in food science and safety; animals and animal systems; and plants and crop systems. 

  • University of Missouri – the College of Ag, Food and Natural Resources provides research, blends traditional and high-tech policy and directly impacts the future.

  • Kansas City is in the heart of the National Security Crossroads – a multi-state initiative aimed at retaining and expanding existing federal national security missions in the Heartland. 

  • Within the National Security Crossroads, there are seven major military bases covering the Air Force, Arm and Navy branches. There are also six national security installations where they focus on the following: geospatial-intelligence, net-centric solutions, non-nuclear component manufacturing, combined arms preparations, strategic attack deterrents and bio-threat prevention. 

  • MRI Global – research, technology development and technical services for government programs in Kansas City, Missouri. 

  • Stowers Institute for Medical Research – world-class biomedical research organization in Kansas City, Missouri, dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life.

  • Kansas City has invested in its technology infrastructure. The city has the world’s most connected Smart City program with free wi-fi across 50 square blocks downtown, smart streetlights along a two-mile stretch of the new KC Streetcar line and 25 interactive kiosks to engage citizens.

• KC’s RESOURCES

  • The KC region has a robust scientific research community, specifically as it relates to agriculture.

  • Kansas City is within 300 miles of 13 land-grant universities as well as top research universities. No one location in the United States offers a similar cluster of land grant access and diversity.

  • In 2017, these institutions graduated more than 150 PhDs in an agriculturally-related field.

  • Kansas City is also home to the world’s largest concentration of animal health industry assets, putting the USDA at the global epicenter of livestock health and food safety.

• COMMUNITY SUPPORT

  • KC’s’s cost of living is below the national average, and average sales price of a home in KC is less than half of the average home price in Washington D.C. and its suburbs. 

  • The KC MSA has experienced a positive net migration of 12,103 from 2016-2017, greater than Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.

  • KC has all of the amenities of a large city, with a strong tech economy and revitalized downtown core.

  • KC has invested in its technology infrastructure, and has the world’s most connected Smart City program with free wi-fi across 50 square blocks downtown, smart streetlights along a two-mile stretch of the new KC Streetcar line and 25 interactive kiosks to engage citizens.

  • More than 130 elected officials, civic organizations, economic development and private sector partners came together to support the KC region’s bid for the USDA ERS and NIFA offices. There is no other community that can galvanize that kind of collaboration across two states and 18 counties – and we will bring that same support to the table in assisting the USDA with their relocation to the KC market.

  • The KC MSA has experienced a positive net migration of 12,103 from 2016-2017, greater than Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.

  • Announced just this week, Kansas City is the first of four cities where Sprint is rolling out 5G service, covering 225 square miles of Kansas City.

  • Kansas City is invested in sustainability. One example, the regional utility, KCP&L has installed the largest operating clean charging station network in the United States, with more than 1,000 units placed throughout four of the metro counties in the region. Since deployment of the clean charge network began in 2015, the metropolitan area has experienced a 95 percent increase in electric vehicle adoption.

After the Harvest partners with farmers to feed hungry people in Greater Kansas City

The sad facts are: People are going hungry. Families, children and seniors are going without healthy food. And an astounding 52% of fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S. go to waste before reaching consumers.  

An organization in Kansas City, Missouri is addressing these issues on a grass roots level: After the Harvest partners with farmers to rescue nutritious fruits and vegetables from going to wasteand donates them to agencies that serve hungry people, primarily in Greater Kansas City. 

Their volunteers “glean” after the harvest, picking what’s left in local farmers’ fields—as well as gardens and orchards—and picking up already harvested leftover produce directly from farms and farmers markets.

After the Harvest connects the farmers’ excess to people who need it, preventing fruits and vegetables from rotting in the field or ending up in the dumpster.

“Farmers don’t have time to locate food pantries or soup kitchens that will take our produce on an hour’s notice,” says farmer Lee Karbaumer. “We certainly don’t have time to deliver it somewhere. After the Harvest does that for us. And they even come harvest it when we don’t have time to do that, either.” 

“To learn about After the Harvest was very important to us,” Karbaumer continues, “because all of a sudden there was something very useful we could do with our (leftover) produce. They connect our food to hungry people and that’s the best thing that can be done with it.”

Moreover, knowing After the Harvest will pick up the extra after the farmers market, is a win/win for farmers. Said farmer Dave Redfearn,  “One of the challenges with farmers market sales is that it is difficult to harvest the perfect quantity of produce each week.” He says if you harvest too little, you miss out on sales and if you harvest too much, there’s waste.  

But now, he said, knowing After the Harvest will pick up the excess, “we harvest extra of everything, taking larger quantities to market. Devoting a little extra time to harvest increases our sales potential while allowing us to give away a larger quantity each week.” 

After the Harvest also raises funds to go outside our region to secure semi-truckloads of donated produce that might end up in landfills, primarily destined for Harvesters—The Community Food Network. After the Harvest is the largest local produce donor to Harvesters, serving 26 counties in the area. This unique partnership gives Harvesters access to produce that would otherwise not be available to them. 

In 2018, 153 farmers and growers—133 local growers and 20 truckload growers—

donated their excess produce to After the Harvest. Over the last five years, After the Harvest has provided over 16.7 million pounds of this healthy, nutritious produce to feed their hungry neighbors. 

To learn more about After the Harvest, please visit them at https://aftertheharvestkc. 

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Help After the Harvest rescue produce from growers’ fields, orchards and gardens and from farmers markets! Join the thousands of other volunteers who are committed to preventing produce from going to waste and providing that healthy food to hungry people in the Great Kansas City area.

Council Touts KC Location to USDA Employees

June 26, 2019

USDA NIFA-ERS Employees --

I look forward to welcoming you to Kansas City.  In July of 2000, we sold our home near the West Falls Church metro stop in the Virginia suburbs and moved to Kansas City.  It has been a wonderful adventure.

Let me share a few things you will find if you choose to make this transition.

• Your housing dollar will buy you a lot more in Kansas City and its suburbs.  In fact, you may likely be in the position to put some of the difference in the bank or add to your youngster’s college fund. And, even on a bad day, most commuters never spend more than 30 minutes traveling to and from their office.

• The KC metro region has many nice neighborhoods with great diversity, people, activities, housing styles, and more.

• Our public schools in the suburban neighborhoods are among the best you will find anywhere.

• Downtown Kansas City is enjoying a huge renaissance.  Young people in particular are flocking to the downtown area to live. And, all ages are enjoying The Power & Light District -- developed by the Cordish Company, the same folks who re-developed Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

  • Entertainment areas are not limited to the downtown.  A little further south, in the mid-town area there is Crown Center, Union Station, and Martini Corner.  I live in an old neighborhood within walking distance of Martini Corner.  

  • Even further south is The Plaza.  It is our version of Rodeo Drive with trendy shopping and upscale restaurants.

  • And then there are Westport, Brookside, and Fairway, and many other neighborhoods with their own style and flare for entertainment, shopping, dining and more. There are many, many good choices.

• Colleges and Universities – Kansas City is located within 300 miles of 13 different Land-Grant Universities.  And three hours or less from the University of Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

• Thinking of the arts, we have that, too.  The Nelson-Atkins Museumof Art is known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art. (Wikipedia) Many of us think the new Kauffman Center for the Preforming Arts rivals the Kennedy Center as a venue.

• Professional sports here are fun to follow.  We have great aspirations for Patrick Mahomes and The Chiefs.  The MLS Sporting Kansas City Club is fun to watch. And we know the Royals will regain their World Series form.  A bit of Kansas City Royals trivia – the Royals are named after The American Royal Livestock and Horse Show, a 120-year old Midwest icon.  The American Royal is also home to the world’s largest barbecue competition.

• Did someone say barbecue?  Well, we have it in Kansas City.  Over 100 joints – yes, authentic barbecue is served in “joints.”  It is the best barbecue in the nation with styles and flavors for every taste.

• While I am thinking food and drink, we seem to have a new brewery opening every weekend. And the distilling scene is pretty cool, too.  Stop at Tom’s Town Distillery on your next trip.  For music, well Knuckleheads Saloon by the railroad tracks is where a lot of name acts stop.

Those are a few highlights. There are many others I could list.  

In looking back on our transition from The Nation’s Capitol area, there is one thing I do miss -- Maryland-style crab cakes are more difficult to find here.  You can find them – The Bristol comes to mind – but not as easily. 

We realize a re-location of this nature can be disruptive to families.  We hope you will choose to give Kansas City a chance as your future home.  I believe you will come to enjoy the area and all it has to offer as much as my family and me.  Please know there is a vibrant agriculture community here that looks forward to welcoming you.

Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Bob Petersen
Executive Director

>>Link to KC Star Letter to the Editor here. 

Agricultural Business Council Honors Two Agribusiness Leaders

May 17, 2019, KANSAS CITY, MO: The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City honored two of the region’s leading agricultural figures on May 16 at a luncheon in the Chamber Board Room in Kansas City’s historic Union Station. The honorees – Lee Borck, chairman of Innovative Livestock Services (ILS) and Beef Marketing Group Cooperative (BMG) and farm broadcasting legend Gene Millard of Millard Family Farms – received the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence, the Council’s highest recognition. Both men have each left their marks on the ag industry over careers extending nearly 50 years.

Council Chairman Robert Thompson, a partner and co-leader of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP’s Food & Agribusiness Industry Group, described this year’s Dillingham Awards recipients as strong examples of what being an advocate for agriculture can accomplish. “These individuals have had a positive and lasting effect on our community.”

Lee Borck was introduced as “an industry icon” by Dee Likes, himself a Dillingham Award honoree in 2015. In his remarks as he accepted the award, Borck said real success in any business endeavor involves doing the right things and ensuring benefits from accomplishments touch everyone in the community. He also stressed that American agriculture has to better tout its accomplishments to the world and will need to adjust its messaging to reflect that it is no longer a commodity industry but a branded one that deserves equitable pricing for the value it creates.

Gene Millard offered a similar assessment of agriculture saying most consumers have a gross underestimation of the value crop growers and livestock producers provide. “Agriculture is a value-added business,” he pointed out, “nothing comes off the fields without a farmer having added value to it.”

Opening the program, John Dillingham, son of Jay B. Dillingham, told Council members that the Kansas City region, situated as it is on the Missouri River, flowing into and from the Mississippi and Kaw Rivers, and connected to coastal ports via rail and highway has an opportunity to become the Silicon Valley of agriculture.

About The Honorees:

• Lee Borck- Chairman of Innovative Livestock Services, Inc., and Chairman of the Beef Marketing Group Cooperative. Combined, these two groups representing cattle feedlots in Kansas and Nebraska, have grown into one of the nation’s largest feeding organizations. As a standalone organization, ILS represents banking, farming, ethanol production and trucking interests. The BMG, under the guidance and leadership of Borck and other central Kansas cattle producers, is a cooperative of cattle producers and farms focused on working together to do what is right to remain sustainable. Borck is also chairman of American State Bank of Great Bend, Kansas and is the past President of Cattle-Fax, which is the nation’s leading cattle and data analysis company. Borck has served the industry as president of the Kansas Livestock Association, and has also served as a board member of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board. He served as the Chairman of the Kansas 4-H Foundation and was Vice Chairman and a board member for the Kansas Bioscience Authority. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kansas State University Foundation. Borck has received numerous industry awards

• Gene Millard- Millard Family Farms. Millard retired in 2003 after a nearly 40-year career in Radio and Farm broadcasting. He joined KFEQ radio in St. Joseph in 1964 as a farm broadcaster and in 1976 he was named the station’s general manager. In 1999 he became vice president of Eagle Radio Inc. which included stations KFEQ, KSJQ, KKJO, KSFT and the Ag Info Center. In retirement he continues to host a one-hour live show each Saturday on a 15 station, 5 state network including KFEQ. In addition to operating his family farm with his son, Brian, Millard currently serves as Chairman of the board of Golden Triangle Energy LLC and a board member of Citizens Bank and Trust in Kansas City. He has served as President of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters, Chairman of the Board of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, President of the Missouri Kansas Chapter of the National Agri Marketing Association and served as Director of Marketing and Interim Executive of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. In 2009 he served as President of the Missouri Renewable Fuels Association as well as Board Chairman of United Cooperative of Plattsburg and Osborn, MO. He has been honored by numerous organizations and in 2010 was inducted into the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Celebrate National Ag Day

The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City celebrates National Agriculture Day on March 14, 2019.  It is a great occasion to highlight the impact of this industry that is present in every Kansas City resident’s life. Though rural businesses exist just miles outside of the city, many do not understand the range of today’s production agriculture.

Agriculture jobs don’t just include farming. They span an entire economy, from equipment manufacturers, seed and chemical technologies, food processors, animal production and more, and jobs like these are a foundation of the regional economy in Kansas City. Recent research from the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City, the American Royal and the Kansas Department of Agriculture hasshown that agri-business has a $29.3 billion impact on the region and supports 114,503 jobs in the Greater Kansas City Area. While that number is impressive, it is important to continue to cultivate this industry into the next generation. 

While some may think of their grandfather’s agriculture or what stereotypes are portrayed on television, that does not paint the full picture of the global industry. Today’s agriculture production relies on modern, sophisticated technology and management techniques that rival any technology company. In fact, companies like Amazon are taking notice and hiring employees to focus on agriculture technology.

What agriculture needs today is bright young minds who are creative and interested in helping feed a hungry world. Encourage students to engage with agriculture in school through science, technology, engineering andmath (STEM) and see firsthand how those skills can translate to the many career opportunities agriculture provides.

Sincerely,

Robert Thompson, Chairman
Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City

Agricultural Business Council to Honor Two Local Leaders

KANSAS CITY, MO, March 1, 2019- The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City will honor two of the region’s leading agricultural figures on May 16 at a luncheon in the Chamber Board Room in Kansas City’s historic Union Station.  The honorees will receive the Council’s highest award, the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence. 

Agricultural Business Council Chairman Robert Thompson notes the honorees are champions for agriculture in separate but very key areas in the region. The honorees are:

• Lee Borck- Chairman of Innovative Livestock Services, Inc., (ILS) and Chairman of the Beef Marketing Group Cooperative (BMG). Combined, these two groups representing cattle feedlots in Kansas and Nebraska, have grown into one of the nation’s largest feeding organizations. As a standalone organization, ILS represents banking, farming, ethanol production and trucking interests. The BMG, under the guidance and leadership of Borck and other central Kansas cattle producers, is a cooperative of cattle producers and farms focused on working together to do what is right to remain sustainable. Borck is also chairman of American State Bank of Great Bend, Kansas and is the past President of Cattle-Fax, which is the nation’s leading cattle and data analysis company. Borck has served the industry as president of the Kansas Livestock Association, and has also served as a board member of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board. He served as the Chairman of the Kansas 4-H Foundation and was Vice Chairman and a board member for the Kansas Bioscience Authority. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kansas State University Foundation. Borck has received numerous industry awards

• Gene Millard-  Millard Family Farms. Millard retired in 2003 after a nearly 40-year career in Radio and Farm broadcasting. He joined KFEQ radio in St. Joseph in 1964 as a farm broadcaster and in 1976 he was named the station’s general manager. In 1999 he became vice president of Eagle Radio Inc. which included stations KFEQ, KSJQ, KKJO, KSFT and the Ag Info Center. In retirement he continues to host a one-hour live show each Saturday on a 15 station, 5 state network including KFEQ. In addition to operating his family farm with his son, Brian, Millard currently serves as Chairman of the board of Golden Triangle Energy LLC and a board member of Citizens Bank and Trust in Kansas City. He has served as President of the Missouri Broadcasters Association, a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters, Chairman of the Board of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, President of the Missouri Kansas Chapter of the National Agri Marketing Association and served as Director of Marketing and Interim Executive of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. In 2009 he served as President of the Missouri Renewable Fuels Association as well as Board Chairman of United Cooperative of Plattsburg and Osborn, MO. He has been honored by numerous organizations and in 2010 was inducted into the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Hall of Fame. 

 “These individuals have had a positive and lasting effect on our community,” said Council Chairman Thompson. “They are strong examples of what being an advocate for agriculture can accomplish.”

The event will be held at the Chamber of Commerce Board Room in Union Station beginning at 11:30 a.m. for networking followed by lunch at noon. Click here for more information and to register to attend.