July 31, 2024
Tour Information
Welcome to the 2024 pre-conference tour!
Please enjoy lunch on your own prior to the tour. We will provide bottled water throughout the afternoon and dinner at Gatherings. We ask that you travel to the tour sites in personal vehicles and seek out others to carpool with. Driving and parking on gravel roads will be necessary. Arrive at the first stop at 12:15 to gather with the group. Closed-toe shoes are required. The tour will take place rain or shine, so please be prepared for the weather. In the case of severe storms, we will use telephone voice or text to notify you of changes.
Tour Hosts
Feel free to contact the tour hosts with your questions.
- Lisa Scarbrough, ISU Extension and Outreach Women in Ag Program
515-971-4214 (cell)
[email protected] - Madeline Schultz, ISU Extension and Outreach Women in Ag Program
515-290-4082 (cell)
[email protected]
Itinerary
12:30 pm – Tour Begins at ISU Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory
- 1937 Christensen Dr, Ames, IA
1:45 pm – Depart Veterinary Diagnostics, travel 6 miles
2:00 pm – Tour Iowa Lavender Farm
- 25016 Sand Hill Trail, Ames, IA 50014
3:30 pm – Depart Iowa Lavender Farm, travel 20 miles
4:00 pm – Tour Lincolnway Energy, LLC
- 59511 Lincoln Hwy., Nevada, IA 50201
5:00 pm – Depart Lincolnway Energy, LLC, travel 15 miles
5:30 pm – Arrive at Gatherings & Farmhouse Catering
- 1024 6th Street, Nevada, IA 50201
7:30 pm – Tour Concludes at Gatherings
Tour and Speaker Information
ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
The Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is a national leader in protecting animal and human health. As the largest food animal diagnostic laboratory in the country, it processes more than 120,000 cases each year. Tour the lab with Dr. Katie Woodard, the lab’s lead public health veterinarian, and experience what the facility offers in respect to world-class technology and cutting-edge diagnostic services while it provides education to students, research on emerging diseases, and routine clinical service to producers nationwide. The VDL provides quality diagnostic services for animal species, including necropsy, bacteriology, serology, histopathology, virology, parasitology, molecular diagnostics, and toxicology as well as offering analytical services. The VDL detects and identifies emerging domestic and foreign animal disease, leads efforts in disease surveillance and eradication, and provide educational opportunities to professional and graduate students, scientists, diagnosticians, and practitioners. https://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdl
Iowa Lavender Farm
Iowa Lavender is a boutique, family-owned farm where they grow, harvest and personally handcraft all of their lavender products. Lavender has the trifecta of flowers – beauty, aroma, and usefulness long after it blooms. After visiting a lavender farm while on vacation, Jason & Jessica Mortvedt were convinced this would be the perfect plant to grow on their central Iowa acreage. In May 2020, the first 150 lavender plants were put into the ground. They were in the middle of a global pandemic – stress and anxiety seemed to be at an all-time high for everyone. Jessica began producing handcrafted lavender products from the first harvest and Iowa Lavender was officially established as a business. The Mortvedts are happy to be able to share with others the soothing and calming properties of lavender which has led to its widespread use as a stress reducer and sleep inducer for hundreds of years.
https://www.iowalavender.com/
Lincolnway Energy, LLC
On this tour, Brenda Duppong will share her knowledge of Lincolnway Energy, LLC. The company was formed on May 2004 to pool investors to build a nameplate 50 million gallon per year dry mill ethanol plant. Lincolnway Energy has been processing corn into fuel-grade ethanol and distillers’ grains at the ethanol plant since May 22, 2006. It is located in Nevada, Iowa. The site was chosen for its central proximity to an ample supply of feedstock, with a location near a major national transportation corridor and the Union Pacific’s Class 1 Railroad. The site is annexed by the City of Nevada with the advantages of three-phase electrical service, ample and inexpensive water supply, wastewater discharge, fire protection, and other municipal services. Lincolnway Energy began extracting corn oil from the syrup which is generated in the production of ethanol in April 2008. In August 2010, Lincolnway Energy entered into an agreement with a third party to collect the carbon dioxide gas which is produced as part of the fermentation process and converts the raw carbon dioxide gas into liquid carbon dioxide. Both of these co-products generate additional revenue for the company with minimal operating costs.
https://lincolnwayenergy.com/contact
Gatherings
Hospitality has always been a big part of Evie Peterson’s life, owner of Gatherings and Farmhouse Catering. Having grown up at one of the largest camps/conference centers in Iowa, she was given many opportunities starting at a young age to cook, serve and clean. Farmhouse Catering was birthed out of necessity to provide for her family and has become a dream come true. Later she added her venue, Gatherings, and it became an extension of her home where everyone who comes to Gatherings is welcome as family. She is extremely active in the Nevada community through her businesses, involvement on the Main Street board, and her children’s activities. She enjoys home renovation projects, decorating, gardening, and camping when not wrangling her five children.
Guest Speakers at Gatherings: Madeline Schultz and Lisa Scarbrough – “Farming Across the Border: Stories from Saskatchewan”
Madeline and Lisa will share pictures and stories from their recent trip to Saskatchewan Canada where they attended the International Farm Management Association (IFMA) Congress in Saskatoon, July 7 to 11, 2024. They’ll highlight some of the key management issues presented at the congress and offer a photo tour of the farms and agricultural businesses they visited. This is the third time Lisa and Madeline have represented women in agriculture at an IFMA congress to gain management perspectives across the globe. At this year’s congress, they’ll be learning about the Treaty 6 Territory at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park, visiting University of Saskatchewan’s Rayner Dairy and Teaching Facility, and touring companies like Novozymes, which generates biosolutions for the agriculture industry. Prior to the congress, Madeline and Lisa will spend a few days with the Loveridge family in Grenfell. Proving once again how close knit the global agricultural community is, this family sold Madeline’s family a cow 50 years ago and the families have remained friends ever since.