Tour offers inside look at ag businesses

The Iowa Farm Bureau 2024 Young Farmer Ag Insights Tour visited western Iowa and eastern Nebraska factories and processors.

Efficiency and innovation as a path to success was on display in July when young farmers from across Iowa visited factories and processors on the 2024 Ag Insights trip, hosted by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).

Participants visited five businesses in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, including Elite Octane, an ethanol plant located in Atlantic; Lincoln Premium Poultry, which processes chickens for Costco in Fremont, Nebraska; and CLAAS North America in Omaha, an assembly plant for CLAAS farm equipment.

Elite ethanol

After an early stop at Lonely Oak Distillery and lunch at Troy's Bar and Grill, both in Earling, the young farmers headed to Elite Octane in Atlantic, on July 11.

The ethanol plant produces about 150 million gallons of ethanol annually and uses about 50 million bushels of corn, sourced...