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Nearly 40 people jumped on the tour bus for the IDP Summer Tour to Ohio on June 4-5. The first stop was to Select Sires Headquarters in Plain City, where a highlight was seeing a bull parade ncluding "Planet", a famous bull that the CEO suggested he wouldn't even sell for $20 million dollars.
After lunch, the tour heard a sober reminder of how quickly things can change on a farm when an abuse video brought national media spotlight on a nearby farmer, Gary Conklin. Although the farm and it's owners were cleared of any wrongdoing, animal abuse was certainly committed by an employee, and Gary candidly discussed how they have made changes to their hiring process and their animal care policies since the event occurred. He talked about the "new glass walls" at his farm, noting that what he used to view as acceptable is not necessarily OK with today's consumers. Now, he implements more of a team approach. He very much appreciated how his local community stood by him during the dark days after the video was released.
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It is with much anticipation that IDP's executive director, Doug Leman, looks forward to traveling with Lt. Governor Ellspermann on the June 2014 Agriculture Trade Mission to Asia, a tremendous opportunity for IDP!
