I spent part of today at the North Platte Feeders feed lot as part of the Leadership Lincoln County class. I’ve never been through a feed lot. And as I understand the North Platte Feeders feed lot is a big operation. From their flaked corn feed to the 40,000+ cattle it is an impressive enterprise. AT least from this city boy’s point of view.

In addition to learning how the feed is mixed to exacting standards we learned how a plethora of regulations hamper the cattle industry.

We spent the morning part of our class at the West Central Research and Extension Center learning about subjects like horticulture, forestry, water, agronomy and irrigation. After today I decided to find some “Husker Red” Penstemon to plant in our yard. Not only does it sound like a plant a Husker fan should have in his garden it grows well in our area.

Jim Goeke’s presentation on Water Issues was helpful input to use in understanding the debates we face over water. A key point Jim made in his time with us was that surface water and ground water are connected. While the connection is not always obvious research clearly shows the connection. Changing the way we use ground water to preserve surface water is one of the implications of this connection. I’m sure we will need to pay closer attention to the way we use water in the future.