1. (Left to Right): Jordan Klosterman, Tiffany Ochs, and Andrew Spray, all of Wabash Valley Service Company, assess the growth stage of a stalk of corn.
2. Kate Graves, GROWMARK FS, LLC, examines soybean cyst nematodes under a microscope.
3. Howard Brown, GROWMARK manager, agronomy services, explains the soil profile and how it affects growing crops.
4. Brendan Bachman, Lincoln Land FS, Inc., tries to determine what damaged this soybean plant.
5. Russell Larson, GROWMARK FS, LLC, looks at soybean cyst nematodes through a loupe.
6. (Left to Right): Bill Emmert, AgVantage FS, Inc., Matt Casey, AGRILAND FS, INC., and Richard Halsne, AgVantage FS, Inc., examine soybeans for possible herbicide damage.
7. Bill Emmert (left) and Richard Halsne, both of AgVantage FS, Inc., use a portable GPS unit to mark the location of a soil sample in a field.
8. Ben Sherod (left) and Dustin Ellis, both of AGRILAND FS, INC., discuss features of a handheld GPS unit.
9. Participants count corn plants to determine planting population.
10. Kevin Black, GROWMARK insect and plant disease technical manager (right) removes a soybean plant from the soil to look for soybean cyst nematode.
11. Brendan Bachman, Lincoln Land FS, Inc., (left) and Brian Sisson, Conserv FS, Inc. collaborate during the "goof plot" exercise where plants were intentionally damaged so participants could diagnose common problems.
12. Jacob Bonnell, FS Seed intern, puts the knowledge he gained to the test in deciding an appropriate course of action to remedy this soybean plant.
The next morning we boarded buses for the 3 hour drive west to McPherson, Kan., home of the National Cooperative Refinery Association (NCRA). We heard several informative presentations from NCRA personnel, then drove around the refinery and visited with chemists in the lab. I never realized how many different products can be extracted from crude oil. 
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