Agriculture Builders of Nebraska Inc., a nonprofit that supports agriculture in Nebraska, including the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, recently held its summer tour and meeting at UNMC.
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The group held a day of ABN reports, meetings and presentations at the medical center July 16. Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, president of the University of Nebraska System, shared his vision for agriculture and the university. The tour also included UNMC presentations on rural health initiatives, moderated by Nikki Carritt, assistant vice chancellor for health workforce education relations; and water, climate and public health, with Jesse Bell, PhD, Hubbard Professor of Water, Climate and Health.
Chris Kalkowski, president of ABN, said the group chose UNMC as its meeting site for three reasons:
- ABN has a strong relationship with the University of Nebraska, through IANR, and continues to build upon that relationship.
- “There are interconnections between human, animal and plant health,” interconnections between agriculture and the science that is happening at UNMC, Kalkowski said. “We are interested in learning about some of these interconnections.”
- “We have an urban-rural divide,” Kalkowski said. “It’s important that we bring that together.” Having the meeting in Omaha not only exposes rural Nebraskans to their urban counterparts and vice-versa, it also shows rural Nebraskans are making an effort to reach out, he said.
Carritt, who also serves as UNMC’s director of rural health initiatives, said the day laid groundwork for future collaboration and ways the medical center can continue to serve the state.
“It was an honor to welcome ABN to the UNMC campus,” she said. “Agriculture and health care are two of the top economic drivers in the state, critical for Nebraska’s rural vitality. These meetings provided the opportunity to learn from one another and to explore the possibilities of enhanced partnership across our 500-mile-wide campus.”
ABN visitors took tours of the Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. A networking reception for Nebraska agribusiness leaders capped off the day.