| 1. Livestock Tour Host: Ben Sims & Ryan Schaub
Merck Animal Health Research Center (Williamsburg, KS)
Come and tour one of Merck Animal Health Research Centers. Attendees will be able to tour and learn about what research projects Merck Animal Health has going on. This will be a walking tour, so please make sure you wear your comfortable shoes. Due to construction at the DeSoto Farm, we’ll be traveling to the Williamsburg location, which will be a 45-minute drive.
East Kansas Agri-Energy (Garnett, KS)
East Kansas Agri-Energy (EKAE) is a local ethanol plant in Garnett, KS. EKAE LLC was formed in 2001 after a steering committee formed by farmers and businesspeople in eastern Kansas got together with the support of the Agriculture Sub-Committee of the Anderson County Economic Development (ACED) organization. The objective was to build a value-added ethanol production facility in the area. On June 10, 2005, the first load of corn was delivered to the plant and the first gallon of ethanol was produced on June 22. EKAE supports local farms and creating energy. 2. Small Ag Business/Family Farms Tour Host: Katelyn Barthol Mellowfields Farm (Lawrence, KS)
Located on the eastern side of Lawrence, KS in the Kansas River Valley, Mellowfields Farm’s certified organic farming practices and direct-to-consumer marketing deliver fresh and nutritious vegetables to the eaters in Lawrence and the Kansas City area. Currently, Mellowfields Farm cultivates almost 4 acres of Kansas River bottom soil. Mellowfields Farm starts, plants, cultivates, harvests and sells over 50 varieties of vegetables for sale directly to eaters through webstore and farmers market as well as through grocery stores, food hubs and restaurants. Gieringer’s Family Farm (Edgerton, KS)
Frank & Melanie Gieringer started Gieringer's Orchard in the spring of 2001. They harvested their first crop of peaches in 2004. Over the years they’ve added Plasticulture Strawberries, Blueberries, Peaches, Blackberries, Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, High density trellised apples, and a fall season that consists of pumpkins, a corn maze, and other fall activities. They have an on-farm market where you can purchase pre-picked fruits in season. As well as a U-Pick option for when those crops are in season. Come tour and learn how this small family farm grew into a very popular & family-fun operation.
South Baldwin Farms (Baldwin City, KS) South Baldwin Farms became one of the largest tree fruit producers in the state – on a limited amount of acreage with the help of its manager Gabe Spurgeon. As a kid, Gabe worked in peach orchards during the summertime. After graduating from college, he found he didn’t enjoy working inside at a desk. His father-in-law had purchased a farm south of Baldwin City in 2000 and was haying it but had always been interested in having a commercial orchard. The first apple trees were planted in 2015, with peach and apple trees and other products following. Today, South Baldwin Farms has some 36,000 trees. Their farm produces apples, peaches, nectarines and blackberries, with cherry trees coming into production soon. South Baldwin Farms has an 11,000-square-foot facility including a retail storefront, packing facility and 2,400 square feet of cold storage. The farm has a pumpkin patch and a seasonal U-pick operation as well. 3. Horticulture Tour Hosts: Sharon Ashworth, Laura Phillips & Anthony Reardon
Douglas County Extension High Tunnels In 2016 the Douglas County Conservation District received a National Association of Conservation Districts grant to write a garden management guide for community gardens and build two high tunnels for education and demonstration. As part of the grant, the Douglas County Extension became the home and host for the high tunnels. The Dg. Co. Extension Master Gardeners use one of the high tunnels to learn about and then demonstrate vegetable production. They installed roll-up sidewalls on the high tunnel (team YouTube!) and currently manage several raised beds inside the tunnel. The high tunnel is also used for winter sowing of native plants. The second high tunnel is used for the 4-H plant science program. Three in-ground rows are offered to youth interested in horticulture but who do not have space at home to grow plants. Our tour guides: Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners Free State High School Greenhouse The Free State High School greenhouse is used for several student projects including growing food for Just Food, the local food bank, and growing native plants for a local restoration project. Students also grow and sell plants as a fundraiser and have individual research projects. Visiting the Free State greenhouse is an excellent opportunity for agents to speak with students about careers in agriculture, home horticulture, and K-State Extension. As we tour the greenhouse and hear about student projects, please be open to discussing career paths with high school youth. Our tour guide: Sam Gleeson teaches biology and plant science at Free State High School. He is also the faculty advisor for the Free State High School FFA chapter. The R.L. McGregor Herbarium The R. L. McGregor Herbarium houses approximately 454,000 specimens accumulated by Botany staff during the past 150 years, including the largest single collection of plants from the grassland biome of central North America. The herbarium houses the largest collection of lichens from Kansas—nearly 10,600. It is the primary documenting herbarium for the Great Plains Flora and other taxonomic and floristic works on Great Plains plants. Though the collections come primarily from North America, the herbarium houses lichen and vascular plant specimens from 28 and 78 countries, respectively. Our tour guide: Collections manager Caleb Morse is a favorite among presenters at the Extension Master Gardener monthly educational programs, giving talks on lichens and botanical nomenclature. Eudora Giving Garden The Giving Garden sprouted in 2020 on Main Street in downtown Eudora with a group of community members who came together to grow and give produce to senior citizens in Eudora. Along with grant funding and a donation of 1 acre of land, many community members came forward to support the Garden. As of 2022, the garden and 3,000 ft2 greenhouse function entirely with volunteers and donations. Interested community members work to grow vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers. The flower garden supplies a cut flower CSA and the site hosts numerous workshops, a little library, and a pollinator garden. Our tour guide: Diane Guthrie is a Douglas County Extension Master Gardener, a professional photographer, and the cut flower lead volunteer for the Giving Garden. 4. Culture Tour Host: Margit Kaltenekker Ivan Boyd Native Prairie & The Battle of Blackjack Historical Site (Baldwin City, KS) Located 3 miles east of Baldwin, lays the Ivan Boyd Memorial Prairie Preserve & The Battle of Black Jack Historical Site. Dr. Roger Boyd, an historian & biologist, will lead us through this historical site. This 18-acre unplowed prairie largely remains due to the presence of 5 very impressive ruts left by thousands of heavy wagons loaded with trade goods on their way to Santa Fe between 1821 and 1880’s. We will be able to walk a ¼ mile gravel loop trail that takes us along and through the ruts. This section of Santa Fe trail was also where the ‘Battle of Blackjack”, the first battle of the Civil War was fought… we’ll visit the Blackjack Historic Settlement. Territorial Capital Museum & Constitution Hall State Historic Site (Lecompton, KS) Come visit and tour the Territorial Capital Museum that contains three floors of artifacts which include information from Pre Civil War Kansas through the Lane University period–and more. As well as tour the Constitution Hall and discover more about this important place in Kansas History. We’ll be treated to a re-enactment of the historic Town Hall meeting that changed the course of history, titled ‘Bleeding Kansas’. A series of talks and dramatic interpretations over the issue of slavery in Kansas and the nation, 1854 to 1865. Watkins Museum of History (Lawrence, KS) Since 1975, the Watkins Museum of History, housed in the iconic 1888 Watkins Land Mortgage and National Bank Building in downtown Lawrence, has provided programs and public events, educational resources and activities, research support, and changing exhibits that explore the heritage of Douglas County and connect the past with issues that affect our communities today. The Watkins Museum is proud to be a member of the Douglas County Heritage Alliance, a cooperative effort of the historical societies in Douglas County to share resources and preserve county historic places, and a partner organization in the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. The Watkins Museum of History gratefully acknowledges the operational support provided by Douglas County through its annual outside agency allocation process. |
