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LEAD program director Terry Hejny has served the program for years, guiding college students throughout the state, nation and world to develop their agricultural leadership expertise.
Members within the fortieth Nebraska LEAD program visited Scottsbluff and Gering this week, with individuals studying the agricultural and financial secrets and techniques of what makes the Platte Valley tick. Their seminar, titled “Panhandle Agriculture — The Land and the People,” lasted from Sunday, March 27 to Tuesday, March 29.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” program director Terry Hejny stated. “The people that I get to meet, the people that I get to work with, I watch these people turn into the leaders of Nebraska.” Hejny was a participant in LEAD 20, twenty years in the past.
The objective is to develop “future problem solvers, decision-makers and spokespersons for Nebraska agriculture,” Heiny stated. Members of LEAD courses often go to the realm as a part of their instructional visits across the state. This yr, individuals visited the Legacy of the Plains Museum, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Wildcat Hills Nature Center and a number of other different places round Scotts Bluff and Banner counties. In whole, they heard from greater than two dozen audio system throughout 16 completely different displays.
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Participants are often 25 to 55 years previous. Aside from learning agricultural points, they research economics, commerce coverage, well being care and schooling. The program teaches them extra about what the political course of in Nebraska is like and the way it shapes the nation and the world.
“… We teach them how to think, not what to think, and we try to provide as many different sides to an issue as possible so that they can make an informed decision as a leader,” Hejny stated.
The tuition price is $2,500 for the two-year program. Hejny stated many of the program’s prices are lined by fundraisers, grants and donations.
Participants of the LEAD 40 class hear to a presentation on the Panhandle Research and Extension Center on Monday, March 28. It was simply one in all a number of displays the group attended as they discovered extra concerning the historical past and economics of agriculture within the Scottsbluff region.
The undertaking operates as a public-private partnership between the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council. Two courses run concurrently yearly; whereas one class is beginning their first yr, the opposite begins their second. This yr, 22 members from greater than a dozen communities participated.
Each class participates in 12 completely different seminars throughout the state. For LEAD 40, the journey to the Scottsbluff region was their sixth. They’ll begin their second yr within the program with a go to to Chadron within the fall. The program stops by virtually each larger schooling establishment in Nebraska, from the University of Nebraska system to native faculties like Chadron State College and Western Nebraska Community College.
Participants be taught not solely concerning the state, however concerning the nation and the world. The LEAD 40 class traveled to cities like Chicago, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. Oftentimes, courses go to different nations. Hejny estimated they’ve visited 70 nations within the final 40 years, studying concerning the land, individuals and sources of those nations alongside the best way.
Courtney Schuler of the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission calls on a LEAD participant to ask a query throughout her presentation on the farming and advertising of dried beans.
Blake Wohlers, a Scottsbluff man who ranches within the northern Panhandle, stated he wished to be taught “a little more understanding of the agriculture industry. Since I’m a rancher, I just concentrate on the ranching, but since I’ve done this it has just opened up my eyes to the background of things … That is what I want to take away instead of being in a little box.”
He stated his neighbors and associates really helpful he be part of the program and visiting completely different cities was his favourite a part of the expertise.
Participant Stephanie Schuler, a product supervisor for NEOGEN, first heard concerning the program by way of school.
“It’s really just helped expand my views on the resources that Nebraska has to offer and the diversity that is within the state. You just don’t realize it,” the Bridgeport native stated.
Schuler stated she was in a position to be taught background details about agricultural features with which she was acquainted. She stated a few of her favourite journeys have been to energy crops throughout the state.
“I would highly recommend this program to anyone if they’ve ever wanted to just expand their network, learn more about Nebraska itself … It’s just a way to learn about your state, get connected with your state and grow within.”
Hejny stated the program is actively recruiting for LEAD 41, which can launch within the fall. The software deadline is June 15, 2022. Applications could be requested by emailing leadprogram@unl.edu.
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