This past month has been extremely busy in the Nebraska Corn Growers office. It started off with our last American Ethanol Promo at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood. Austin Dillon, an American Professional Stock Car driver even had one of his show cars at the race! This race also included a money grab and a Bill Wrich Tribute which brought in a lot of fans. This allowed for more opportunities to talk with consumers about Ethanol and how people are already using it every time they fill up at the pump!
After the race promos ended for the season, we started right back up again but this time at the ball park. In the middle of July, Catherine, Nikki, and I went to Ag Night at Werner Park. We had a booth where we set up the spinning wheel, asked fun trivia questions and gave away prizes. I am pretty sure it was on the warmest day of the year, but it was also bark in the park so the dogs made the heat a little more tolerable. While at Ag Night I had the opportunity to speak with adults about Nebraska Corn. It was neat to see how interested some people were. Many consumers think Nebraska producers only grow sweet corn for consumers for farmers markets and grocery stores. Although that is true to some extent the majority of corn produced in Nebraska is field corn, which is used for livestock, ethanol, and other byproducts. In fact, sweet corn production remains quite small, less than 1% of acres in Nebraska produce sweet corn. I also talked with farm families from Wisconsin and Illinois.
The Corn Grower Open was this past week in Kearney at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course. We had a great turnout with 111 golfers and many different sponsors. We started in May contacting agriculture businesses to sponsor the 7th annual Corn Grower Open. I was excited to see all of our hard work finally come together. While at the tournament I had the opportunity to meet several corn growers and get to know our sponsors a little bit more.
It has been a busy summer here in the office, however I have been able to do other things as well. At the end of June, I took a week off to volunteer at the National 4-H Shooting Sports that is held annually in Grand Island, NE. There were over 700 4-H competitors from 36 different states. This was my 6th year volunteering. Each year is like a big “family reunion” with the volunteers and range officers that I’ve met over the years, so I couldn’t miss it. I have had the opportunity to spend a few days on the lake and river with my friends and family. This past weekend I went to Lake Okoboji for the first time. It was as great as promised! Also coming up is the Seward County Fair (my home town). The saying “once a 4-Her, always a volunteer” is very true to me. Now that I am a 4-H alumni I was asked to come back as the photography superintendent. So I will be spending a few days at my county fair but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am looking forward to the coming fall events including Frog Fest, August 19th and Husker Harvest Days, September 12-14th.
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