Agtegra Seminar on Rural Vitality and Entrepreneurs
Day 1
We started off the day in the boardroom at the Agtegra headquarters. As always, we went around the room and shared our personal updates and this time we were asked to also share some comments about the DISC and emotional intelligence training from the last seminar. It was great to hear how the training has influenced people’s lives and helped them become better communicators. After that we kicked off our speakers with Mike Traxinger (SDARL VII), Agtegra General Counsel and Senior Vice President, and his presentation on Who Is Agtegra? We learned that Agtegra is an innovative, farmer-owned with more than 6,800 active member-owners across South Dakota, North Dakota, and surrounding states. Mike also highlighted how involved Agtegra is in local communities and what their core values are. Their unofficial mission statement “Do something great for your farm and family that nobody else will do.” Agtegra is at the forefront of innovation and really focuses their vision on strategic relationships and growth so that they continue to serve member-owners for years to come.
After Mike, we had lunch sponsored by Agtegra and then heard from one of our own classmates, Kaleb Bowman. Kaleb is the Director of Agronomy Operations at Agtegra and gave us an overview on the co-op business model and its structure. We were able to learn some history on co-ops and how they were a necessity for rural development and still are today. He also touched on how Agtegra is proud to be local and although it may seem like a large co-op it is quite small compared to the national cooperatives and private industry. Kaleb’s presentation reiterated the vision of Agtegra and how with the cooperative model they are in it for the long run, not just for a quick profit.
Then we shifted gears and got some news and information on our upcoming international study seminar to Argentina. SDARL Program Director Jen Henrie (SDARL IX) shared with us some important travel details and then we got the chance to hear from Rebecca Blue and Dusty Schley (SDARL VIII). These two South Dakotans have lived and traveled extensively in Argentina, and they shared with us some of their experiences. Their presentations painted a picture of the culture and life in Argentina. They were both very passionate about the country and all it has to offer. I think I can speak for Class XII; we are excited to go check it out firsthand!
So, after the exciting international trip update it was back to business with an informative presentation from Cheri Rath (SDARL II). Cheri is the Executive Director of the South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center which is a nonprofit resource that helps potential entrepreneurs develop and market their products. Cheri helps people turn their visions into reality with the one-stop resource center. SDVAADC offers help with every step of the process including project management, feasibility assessment, business planning, funding, networking, education, and research. Taylor Sumption has found the SDVAADC resource very helpful and shared his success story of Anthem Oats. Taylor has a long love for oats and shared his unique journey on how the company really came to fruition. Anthem Oats is a successful company shipping oatmeal throughout the US and into Canada.
Last but not least we heard from Rod Kappes, BDM Rural Water System, Shane Phillips, WEB Water, and Robin Bobzien, City of Aberdeen. These three entities have joined together in a rural water project called WINS or “Water in Northern South Dakota.” The WINS project is focused on bringing Missouri River water to northeastern South Dakota. The project has a hefty price tag of almost 900 million dollars and will be constructed in phases over several years.. It is essential for these entities to work together on securing the funding for the project. The vision of this project is to promote industry and community growth in northeast South Dakota and water security for years ahead.
We rounded out the evening with a social and dinner at the Ramkota. The evening was attended by many SDARL alumni and Agtegra directors and delegates. It was a great opportunity to network with previous class members and our seminar sponsors Agtegra.
Day 2
We started out the day boarding a charter bus bound for the Agtegra Bath/Grebner location. When we arrived, we toured the Innovation Center and got to hear from Lance Larsen (SDARL X) and Lee Sanderson (SDARL IX). Lance, Operations Manager for the Innovation Center, gave us an in-depth look on how they provide service, support, and sales to local farmers. A lot of the discussion was based around what precision agriculture may look like in the future. Lance said a quote that many of us won’t forget: “Precision agriculture is moving at a faster pace than ever before, and it will never move this slowly again.” The vision of the Agtegra Innovation Center is clear and that is to keep up with the pace and build long-lasting relationships with the producers they serve.
After hearing from Lance, we did a walk-through tour and then boarded the bus with Lee Sanderson to get a closer look at the Grebner grain facility and fertilizer plant. Lee is the Area Manager and oversees six Agtegra locations. His main goals are to streamline processes through automation and to lead everyone to work collaboratively. Lee stressed the importance of small gains. Those small gains make all the difference. Both Lance and Lee also shared their SDARL experiences and what a profound impact it has had on their personal lives and professional careers.
After the tour of the facilities, we thanked them and headed east towards Milbank, SD. On the way we enjoyed a pit stop at the Purple Cow ice cream shop in Waubay. We were warmly welcomed by Valley Queen in one of their new facility offices. VQ is nearing the completion of a $200 million expansion to add 3 million pounds of milk processing each day. We heard from Doug Wilke, CEO, and Randy Twistol, Vice President of Human Resources, speaking about the company and expansion. Doug gave us some insight to VQ’s history and operations. Currently they have a staff of 430 employees, just recently adding 140 new employees for the expansion. They have been able to accomplish this by integrating the company in the Milbank community over the 95 years they have been in business. Randy explained to us how strong their relationships are with the community and how they are always looking to improve and maintain them. Randy’s vision is to hire and expand but keep the culture of a small company.
After hearing about the operations side of VQ we got the privilege of speaking with Brady Janzen, a partner at Riverview Dairy. Brady explained to us the process of building a dairy such as carefully selecting the sites and navigating regulations. They also have their own construction team within their nearly 1,500 employees. Riverview dairy supplies about 35% of the milk used by Valley Queen. They are heavily invested in the dairy industry covering over 5 states and 25 sites. After soaking in all the information from VQ and Riverview, we got a chance to tour the state-of-the-art cheese manufacturing facility and see the expansion firsthand.
Back onto the bus we went and headed west to Aberdeen to enjoy a taco bar at Wylie Park and ended the evening with a competitive round of mini golf.
Day 3
The final day was held back over at the Agtegra’s headquarters. The day started with some Class XII team time and information about upcoming class president election and an overview of what that position entails. We also took some time to discuss the quickly approaching end of class fundraising auction. After that we broke out into our peer learning teams and discussed one of our assignments which was to attend a community meeting. Each classmate had a different experience, some were great examples of well-run organizations, and some were examples of organizations that maybe needed a little more structuring.
After wrapping up the team time, we had a presentation from Agtegra’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Kristi Johnson. Kristi explained some of the workforce issues South Dakota faces and the approaches Agtegra uses to attract and retain talent. With there being more jobs than people to fill them, it makes hiring seem like an impossible task but with the right approach you can have great success.
Next up on the agenda was Kelly (SDARL VII) and Clint Brandlee. They shared the story of their 6th-generation family farm near Pierpont. Their entrepreneurial businesses include direct-to-consumer beef sales, branded as Back Forty Beef, an adventure farm/corn maze, and hand-poured tallow candles. Their journey to this point all started in 2020 with the beef sales and this will be the second year for the corn maze. They are very passionate about their endeavors and shared with us some of their keys to success. Clint gave a great piece of entrepreneurial advice and that is you must figure out your “why” to keep you going through the tough times.
This seminar was packed with vibrant entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. It was tough to pick just one thought to share with the class in our takeaways. Thanks again for another great seminar and to Agtegra and all the supporters that make SDARL possible.
By Seminar Reporter Carson Stange
Photos courtesy of Kim McGraw and SDARL
Special thanks to Seminar Team Leaders Kaleb Bowman and Taylor Sumption