Author: Hannah Kirby, Agribusiness and Applied Economics Undergraduate Student
In January 2016, the Ohio State Agribusiness Club journeyed on our annual trip which took us all around the state of Texas. The trip consisted of 35 students, accompanied by AEDE staff member Holly Hall.
On the first day of the trip students arrived in Houston and visited one of Cargill's grain elevators. The group got to see how grain is pulled up off of ships, railroad carts, and trucks and then hoisted into storage bins. We then visited the Cargill control room where monitors displayed the availability of grain in the bins and we watched video of unloading of the company's commodities.
The second day took the Club to Richmond, Texas to see the George Ranch Historical Park. The ranch is a living history site that preserves and interprets the four generational storyline of a Texas family beginning in 1824 and spanning more than 100 years. We got to walk through the ranch's homes and see the long-horn cattle, which created the foundation of the farm. Our ranch tour ended with a show from the working cowboys on the ranch who demonstrated roping and herding skills. Students then headed to San Antonio to view the site of the Battle of the Alamo. In the evening, everyone got dressed up for dinner on the Riverwalk.
On the third day of the trip we journeyed to Fredericksburg, a town with lots of shopping. We hiked up to the Enchanted Rock, a .67 mi hike to a summit where we could see small pools of water and fragile wildlife habitats. After some fantastic barbeque, the group headed to Austin to stay for the night.
The next day we headed to Cargill's animal feed mill in Giddings, Texas. There we received an overview of the industry and operations as a whole, followed by a plant tour including everything from ingredient testing, maintenance, feed mixing, bagging and shipping. The next stop was College Station where we started with a tour of Texas A&M University's meat lab, followed by an extensive tour of their newly built equine center. The center’s barns were fully equipped with arenas, stables, locker rooms, classrooms and a beautiful event facility.
The morning of our fifth day we went back to Texas A&M University to tour their newly remodeled football stadium. We got a behind the scenes tour and learned the history and stories of the structure. Next, the group headed over to the island of Galveston to tour ADM’s grain elevator port. We got to see the port up close, how ships are loaded, and the port's control room.
Texas was a great experience for students, enabling us to gain extensive knowledge of working agribusiness in this part of the country. We would like to thank the sponsors who made the trip possible, along with all the facilities that welcomed us. We can’t wait to see where our next trip will takes us!
You can check out our photos from the trip here.
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The OSU Agribusiness Club consists of members from different majors within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. The Club meets twice a month and hosts guest speakers from various agribusinesses who present on their companies and talk to students about internship and job opportunities. The Club also hosts an annual banquet and sponsors a scholarship for AEDE undergraduate students. Agribusiness Club members also take an annual trip within the U.S. each year.