Uzziah Scholars take industry tour to Colorado

From October 17-20, Concordia University, Nebraska’s Uzziah Ag Scholars traveled around Colorado to several farms and gained hands-on experience in their future careers. The study tour was led by Professor Emeritus Dr. Dennis Brink and Uzziah Scholars Director Kellie Nelson. 

They started at Rockey Farms in Center, Colorado. Rockey Farms is known for their specialty seed potatoes. Students learned about topics like cover crops, harvesting, livestock integration, soil health and storage. They also toured the Colorado State University potato research facility. The space is also located in the San Luis Valley. At this facility, students were able to learn about the processes for detecting diseases in seed potatoes and how certification works.  

They also toured the Chalk Cliffs Trout Rearing Unit. Chalk Cliffs is a trout hatchery near Nathrop, Colorado. Students had the opportunity to see a large-scale trout operation and were able to feed the fish. Chalk Cliffs Trout Rearing supplies fish for public fishing areas to provide catchable trout to waters across the Front Range and Eastern Plains of Colorado. The stocking area reaches from Loveland, Colorado, out to the Kansas border.  

“After all of our tours, students were able to see large diversity in the scope of agriculture in Colorado, bringing back a wealth of knowledge.”

The scholars also had the opportunity to visit Buck and Bloom Cheese Company in Buena Vista, Colorado. The small team of cheesemakers creates a variety of cheeses such as chevres, fromage blanc, goat milk feta, bloomy rind cheeses, pepperjack and aged goat and cow cheeses that ripen in the underground cheese cave.  

The last stop that they made was in Holyoke, Colorado. They toured both Vieselmeyer Seed and the Beef Barn of Vision Angus, a registered Angus seedstock producer. At Vieselmeyer Seed, the scholars learned more about Pioneer seed, water rights and farming practices in that region. Vision Angus sells ranch-raised, grain-finished, dry-aged angus beef from farm to table, as well as offering freshly ground flour, locally sourced Wheat Berries, fresh breads, bread bags, and locally grown honey, pickles and handcrafted ceramics.  

In addition to all the businesses the students were able to visit places like the North Crestone Trail, Salida, Colorado, the Arkansas River, Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. 

Nelson said, “After all of our tours, students were able to see large diversity in the scope of agriculture in Colorado, bringing back a wealth of knowledge.”  

Anyone who has been successfully admitted to Concordia University, Nebraska and intends to major or minor in an agriculture-related program may apply for the Uzziah Scholars program.