Taking The Lead

Lindsay Forepaugh grew up on a small farm in western Oregon, settled in Midland, Texas, with her husband, yet now they reside in Banner County. How does an Oregonian end up on the Monkey Ranch in western Nebraska and love it!

"When I was growing up, I fully admit that Nebraska was not on my list of states where I thought I might live in the future," she said. "Today, I can't imagine living anywhere else."

Forepaugh said the Nebraska LEAD program "has only reinforced my certainly that this is the state I want to call home."

While living in Texas, her in-laws called and offered the couple an opportunity that would change their lives.

"They suggested that we move to the Monkey Ranch and take over their bison operation," she said.

Lindsay and her husband, Rick, jumped at the opportunity and within 30 days they were learning to raise bison. They have since purchased the Monkey Ranch and started Rocky Hollow Buffalo Co.

The program that Lindsay was involved in that cemented her commitment to Nebraska requires a two-year commitment. Nebraska LEAD Class 38 is a leadership development program for Nebraskans involved in agriculture.

Both the Rocky Hollow Buffalo Company and High West Energy, where Lindsay is chief financial officer, were strong supporters of Lindsay and the LEAD program.

Beginning in September 2019, Lindsay and her NE LEAD 38 classmates began a series of seminars to prepare them to become more effective leaders in the agricultural sector. Seminars included such topics as the political process, nuclear energy, agricultural financing, policy and marketing, and a seminar on "Panhandle Agriculture – The Land and the People."

Finally, in January 2020, the culmination of the program was an international study/travel seminar to Costa Rica and Brazil. Lindsay said the 15 day trip "broadened my perspective on the world around us like nothing else ever could."

Lindsay and her LEAD companions visited the first graduate school in agriculture in Costa Rica, then moved onto La Fortuna, Liberia. The LEAD group then travelled to a variety of places in Brazil.

Hard pressed to select a most impressive place, Lindsay was awed with the size of the farms.

"While visiting one of the Bom Futuro farms, I saw a single field of soybeans spanning 16,000 acres," she said. "This area of Brazil has a climate which allows them to harvest and plant the same field on the same day, and to see such a thing in person was simply overwhelming."

But the climate and size of the fields has some drawbacks, according to Lindsay.

"I learned that we, those of us involved in agriculture in the United States, are blessed with winters," she explained. "This has limited the number of pests and diseases we have to contend with on an annual basis. In Brazil, they need to apply two or three times as many herbicides, pesticides and biologics because they do not have a season with freezing temperatures."

Both Costa Rica and Brazil had modern operations, yet as Lindsay mentioned in the countryside of Costa Rica dated operations existed on the banana plantations. They saw workers using hoes to tend to the banana plantations, but visiting a dairy in Costa Rica would be just like a modern dairy in the United States.

Brazil has very similar agricultural operations as the United States, yet their lack of infrastructure creates a problem of efficiency. All products have to be trucked nearly 1,200 miles to the coast because no railroad exists connecting the interior of the country with the ports.

The purpose of the NE LEAD is to create more effective leaders and Lindsay said, "One of the most important changes I will be making because of this experience is to become more involved in the local community. I see our community in a different light after my seminar ... and after nearly two years in the Nebraska LEAD 38 program."

"Western Nebraska is a unique place, and we need to ensure that the eastern part of the state does not forget we are out here," Lindsay said. "This region has a great deal to offer all the residents of Nebraska."

Spoken like a true western Nebraskan.