CropLife 100 Tour Highlights Safety Measures, Family Focus at Leading Ag Retailers
March 5, 2023 Traveling today is not quite as reliable or seamless as it once was, but I always enjoy getting out of the office to attend industry events and meet the people and companies we interact with at CropLife®.
Recently, I attended the annual Ever.Ag Agribusiness Summit in Des Moines, IA. Ernie Chappell, President of EFC Systems, talked about the transition of EFC Systems to Ever.Ag Agribusiness and the opportunities it presents for continued growth in the market place, particularly in the areas of digital agronomy and business management solutions.
Ernie’s new title is President of Ever.Ag Agribusiness and the new website is www.Ever.Ag/Agribusiness.
We wish the team success on the next chapter in their journey.
From Des Moines, I drove down to Kansas to visit with several ag retailers as part of our special editorial coverage this year devoted to the 40th anniversary of the CropLife 100.
In the coming months, Eric Sfiligoj and I are profiling ag retailers across the country — independents, coops, and nationals — to learn about how the industry has changed over the years and what’s ahead.
My first stop was in Moundridge, KS, to visit Mid Kansas Cooperative and meet with Dave Spears, Executive Vice President and CMO. I toured the facility in nearby Inman, then we drove to Moundridge where Dave and several members of his team showed off their safety center.
The MKC team is very proud of their safety center, and rightly so. It’s outfitted with various simulators and small scale reproductions, including an anhydrous ammonia tank, to provide a hands-on, experiential interaction for training on such things as a grain engulfment or a grain dust explosion.
The team actually demonstrated a grain dust explosion for me, which I captured on video. Seeing a grain dust explosion in person (in a controlled setting from a safe distance, of course) really helped me appreciate the hazards associated with agricultural work and how important the safety center is for training and demonstration purposes.
My next stop was Osborne, KS, where I dropped in on Sims Fertilizer & Chemical, one of the largest cash and carry chemical businesses in the country.
Joe and Kathy Sims’ children are running operations these days and doing a great job, but it remains a true family business through and through as you can see from their website, www.simsfarm.com/who-we-are.
When I arrived at the Sims office, I was met by what seemed like the entire family. It was one of the warmest welcomes I’ve ever received. Katie and the family were keen on showing me the CropLife 100 plaques they’ve earned over the years along with a “small library” of past issues of CropLife, including one with Joe and Kathy Sims on the cover.
I learned a lot on this trip. It was both humbling and insightful. I’m looking forward to sharing more details in our upcoming editorial series.
Let’s get growing!
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