After more than four years, Cindy Teel, R.N., Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Nursing, said she knew very little about Kansas beyond the route between her home and work. The level of science used in the state's agriculture industry impressed these professors, as well as others on the trip. One amazing example of science and ingenuity came on the grounds of Garden City's Reeve Entities, a feedlot, alcohol plant and fish farm. The company's primary business is to fatten cattle on grain, but before they feed the grain, they ferment it and distill off the resulting alcohol. The alcohol is sold as a gasoline supplement and the leftover grain products are fed to the cattle.
Fermentation warms the alcohol still, so water is passed around it to cool it.
The heated water is then pumped to an adjacent building where it is used to grow warm-water tropical fish. The fish are sold to restaurants, and as a byproduct, the water is used to fertilize and irrigate alfalfa, which is fed to the cattle. There is virtually no waste in the system. At most stops, local residents acted as guides and every meal was shared with community leaders. Some people were tour participants, as well as guides.