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2009 Ag Adventure Tour
Leadership Omaha Alumni Build Networks and Knowledge on Tour of Northeast Nebraska
For 15 years the Leadership Omaha Alumni Association and the LEAD Alumni Association have crafted tours of Nebraska to allow rural and urban Nebraskans to learn more about each other and about the state. This year's "Legendary Ag Adventure Tour" focused on northeast Nebraska, giving participants the opportunity to see innovation and collaboration firsthand. Members of the Leadership Omaha Alumni Association are graduates of the Greater Omaha Chamber Leadership Omaha program. Nebraska LEAD alumni are graduates of the Nebraska LEAD (Leadership Education/Action Development) program.
Green technology is a timely topic in rural Nebraska, just as it is in the more urban areas of the state. The tour visited three enterprises with innovative approaches to renewable energy. Robert Byrnes, an organic chemist by training and an industrial chemist by trade, is manager of Nebraska Screw Press (NSP) in Lyons, Nebraska. NSP is focused on development of oilseed processing systems throughout the United States and Central and South America. In addition to traditional oilseed crops such as soy beans, sunflowers and canola, Byrnes and his team are experimenting with algae because of its potential to produce oil. In contrast to the 48 gallons of oil to the acre soy beans produce annually, scientists speculate that microalgae could produce more than 5,000 gallons of oil per acre.
Byrnes moved from New Jersey to Nebraska ten years ago. Neither he nor his wife Terra had an agricultural background, but they learned how to grow their own food and tend their own livestock. The Energy Farm outside of Lyons grew out of their desire to be self-sufficient in all ways, including energy. Now this demonstration "off-grid" farm is the only one of its kind operating in Nebraska. Systems being used and developed include wind power, solar power and biodiesel production. The farm is also preparing to install a methane digester, utilizing waste from hogs and chickens to generate electricity. Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, the umbrella organization overseeing the Energy Farm, is also based in Lyons.
Danny Kluthe of OLean Energy in Colfax County, Nebraska, says his methane digester is the result of turning a dream into a reality. With an 8,000 head hog operation, Kluthe had plenty of the raw material needed to produce methane, which is then converted to electricity. His 80 kilowatt generator produces enough electricity to power 40 homes. Kluthe sells the electricity he produces to the Nebraska Public Power District.
Entrepreneurs played a significant role in this year's tour. Nancy Eberle, executive secretary of the LEAD Alumni Association, and her husband Gary have begun growing woody florals on their land in Bradshaw, Nebraska. Woody florals offer high quality, colorful fresh-cut stems of dogwoods, willows and flowering branches for container and floral designs. The last stop on this year's tour was at James Arthur Vineyards, where the group heard from vineyard owner James Arthur about cultivation and harvesting of the grapes used to produce its best-selling Edelweiss wine, among other varieties.
The Ag Adventure Tour helps leaders build bridges from urban to rural and back again. Join us on next year's tour to central Nebraska July 16 and 17, 2010. For more information contact Lynda Shafer, manager of leadership and workforce development for the Greater Omaha Chamber, at (402) 978-7928.