7:30-8:30: Eat a big breakfast at the restaurant
next to the motel and observe some of the local people in
their natural habitat.
8:30-9:15: Drive south on 83 about 30 minutes to Garden City. Observe some of the huge farms where
the people you ate with in Scott City might work. Note the prevalence of center-pivot
irrigation. Drive to the intersection of 83 and 50/400. You can see the Brookover Feed Yard
ahead and to the right.
9:15-9:45: Take the arranged tour of the Brookover Feed Yard.
Photos by Tom Geyer
This operation feeds cattle from the cow/calf operations
up to maturity. These
photos show only a small part of the feedlot. As large as this place
is, there are other operations in the area that
would dwarf this feedlot.
9:45-12:00: Take Bus. 83 south over the Arkansas River and observe the river bed (usually mostly dry).
Does Kansas have issues with Colorado about Arkansas River Water? Follow signs to the
Finney Game Refuge. This is a 3670 acre sand sage prairie on Arkansas River sand
deposits.
their natural habitat.
8:30-9:15: Drive south on 83 about 30 minutes to Garden City. Observe some of the huge farms where
the people you ate with in Scott City might work. Note the prevalence of center-pivot
irrigation. Drive to the intersection of 83 and 50/400. You can see the Brookover Feed Yard
ahead and to the right.
9:15-9:45: Take the arranged tour of the Brookover Feed Yard.
|
|
|
| 1: Feed |
2: Cows |
3: _______ |
9:45-12:00: Take Bus. 83 south over the Arkansas River and observe the river bed (usually mostly dry).
Does Kansas have issues with Colorado about Arkansas River Water? Follow signs to the
Finney Game Refuge. This is a 3670 acre sand sage prairie on Arkansas River sand
deposits.
|
|
| Sand Sage Prairie Photos Courtesy
of |
Finney Game Refuge Brochure |
12:00-1:00: Lunch in Garden City.
1:00-1:45: Drive about 45 minutes to Montezuma and the Gray County Wind Farm. Take 50/400
east towards Dodge City. Turn south on the county road at Ingalls and go to Montezuma.
At Montezuma go to the windfarm headquarters at 100 W. Mexitli Street to get information
and see about getting to go up into a windmill.
1:45-2:30: Drive to the viewing kiosk a couple miles west of Montezuma to read the information and
view the wind farm. This is wind energy on a monumental scale. It covers more than 20
square miles with 170 huge windmills, yet there is only a 7-acre footprint for all the
windmills. The land can be farmed right to the base of the windmills, so very little
agricultural land is taken out of production. There is a reason why Kansas means People of
the Southwind.
1:00-1:45: Drive about 45 minutes to Montezuma and the Gray County Wind Farm. Take 50/400
east towards Dodge City. Turn south on the county road at Ingalls and go to Montezuma.
At Montezuma go to the windfarm headquarters at 100 W. Mexitli Street to get information
and see about getting to go up into a windmill.
1:45-2:30: Drive to the viewing kiosk a couple miles west of Montezuma to read the information and
view the wind farm. This is wind energy on a monumental scale. It covers more than 20
square miles with 170 huge windmills, yet there is only a 7-acre footprint for all the
windmills. The land can be farmed right to the base of the windmills, so very little
agricultural land is taken out of production. There is a reason why Kansas means People of
the Southwind.
|
|
| You can't get a sense of the scale
in the Photos by |
Tom Geyer |
2:30-3:00: Take 56 west to Dodge City and
go to the view point on 50/56 on the east side of town.
This is part of a lot that can finish 60,000 cows at a time.
|
| Smells like $$ Photo by Tom Geyer |
- Feedlot cows start at 600-700 lbs.
- They are fed to 1,000 - 1,400 lbs in 140 days
- At any given time there can be more than a million live cattle in the Dodge City area. (25,000 people)
- About 1,000 semi trucks service Dodge City each day. This
is a lot for a population of 25,000.
3:00-?? : Drive back to Dodge City and check into
the hotel. Relax or go touristing around the old
cow town. There are many restaurants. You could probably find a steak if you tried real hard.
There should be time to catch up on journals.
cow town. There are many restaurants. You could probably find a steak if you tried real hard.
There should be time to catch up on journals.
