Scottsbluff resident, Dave Hergert, visits South Africa to learn more about chicory.

       

     "One year ago in August, I was in Belgium and France touring their chicory operations," Dave Hergert of Hergert Milling told members and guests of the Scottsbluff area Rotary luncheon Tuesday.  "I ran into a couple of fellows from South Africa that said they raised chicory and I out to come down there."       

       

     Hergert took the South African chicory producers up on their offer and spent two weeks in their country watching the growing and harvesting methods used.

       

     Hergert Milling started their business in Scottsbluff in 1972, and has been involved in the "feed" manufacturing business ever since.  Chicory did not become a part of Hergert operation until three years ago.

     Dr. Bob Wilson, weed scientist for the University of Nebraska's Panhandle station and a representative from Nestle's came to Hergert and told him they were doing research on the possibilities of growing chicory as a cash crop in the United States and wondered if he would be interest in being the first prototype chicory manufacturer in the U.S.  Hergert agreed and began the process of "gearing up" his production capabilities to handle the crop.  To date, Hergert Milling is the only chicory manufacturing company in the United States or the western hemisphere.

       

     Chicory is harvested for its sugar beet-like root used mainly in pet foods.  It is high in inulin, which is a long chain carbohydrate that stimulates the digestive system.  European studies indicate there are many nutritional benefits to human beings including reducing the incidents of colon cancer and Alzheimer's Disease and studies show it might be beneficial to people suffering from Type 2 diabetes, according to Hergert.

       

     In May, Hergert boarded a plane and made the journey to Cape Town, South Africa and then drove by car the 700 miles along the coast until finally arriving in Port Alfred where a majority of chicory farming is done.

       

     "South Africa is a country with a population of 35 million people; 90 percent black, 50 percent unemployed and 30 percent of the population has AIDS," Hergert said in his presentation to the Rotary Club.  "Newspaper articles from neighboring Zimbabwe indicate widespread malnutrition and starvation."

       

      Hergert noted one Zimbabwean hospital was limited to processing 150 corpses and put up a sign saying it would not accept deliveries of dead bodies from outside the facility.

       

      South African temperatures in the winter range from 65 to 80 degrees so planting and harvesting were going on at the same time while Hergert was visiting.  Hergert observed many differences between chicory operations in the Nebraska Panhandle and Port Alfred.  "They have a longer growing season," he said.  "The harvesting is done by hand.  Laborers top the chicory by hand, much like we used to top beets; the roots are put into sacks, the sacks are loaded in a wagon and then onto a truck."

       

      The South African ag producers are able to utilize about 12,000 acres whereas in the Panhandle and southeastern Wyoming, Hergert estimates the utilization of approximately 6,000 to 10,000 acres.  During the harvest, Hergert also observed that our farmers can do in one hour what it might take the South African laborers "all day long, perhaps two days" to accomplish.

       

      In South Africa, chicory is grown mainly for its use as a coffee-like beverage.

       

      Hergert was overwhelmed with the dire outlook for South Africa and noted that most of the Caucasian ag producers live behind concrete walls, three feet high with an additional six feet of wire on top of that, alarm systems and a kind of South African watch dog that resemble a cross between a Rotweiler and a Boxer is the guard behind the fence.

       

     A Rotary president from South Africa told Hergert that until South Africa makes some kind of economic recovery Caucasian citizens of the country "cannot build walls high enough around our homes."

       

     "One thing I didn't get to point out at the Rotary luncheon was the South African's opinion of Nelson Mandela - everyone I talked to held him in the highest regard and felt he was the individual with the leadership qualities for the transitional government," Hergert said later.  "I also thought it was interesting that Minnie Mandela, Nelson's ex-wife began serving a prison sentence while I was there for crimes previously committed."

       

      I would conclude that South Africa is a beautiful country with a magnificent and striking coastal area", Hergert said.  The South African people are a very warm and friendly people and love and respect Americans, and I was never concerned about my personal safety, however, when traveling in any major metropolitan area in the U.S. or elsewhere one must use judgment when and where you visit in certain localities."

       

      The first year Hergert Milling started its production operation for chicory was an average of 17-18 tons per acre, that figure rose last year to 22 tons, and Hergert hopes to see that raise even more this fall with some fields producing 25 ton.  With Panhandle farmers being able to sell their chicory crop for as much as $55 per ton, chicory becomes a very valuable crop to area producers.

       

      "The reason I'm involved in the chicory production is the economic opportunities for ag producers in that we have an aging farm population," Hergert said.  "I don't see a lot of young people going into agricultural production.  We need to provide opportunity for economic returns."  

       

      "When you consider other ag commodities, most of them don't provide encouragement for careers in agricultural production," he added.  "I would say to producers, 'control your own destiny, add value by feeding cattle or other means to subsidize your income'."

       

      Hergert believes that chicory is one of those diversifications that can enhance many farming operations.  "Chicory is not in competition with sugar beets," Hergert pointed out.  "It compliments sugar beet production.  Similar equipment used in sugar beet production is also used for chicory production."

       

     Chicory harvest started in earnest in our area Monday and in this, the third year of the local chicory harvest, many ag producers will be watching and possibly finding new ideas and hope for their own futures thanks to the work of the University of Nebraska and Hergert's willingness to take a chance on a "chancy" proposition three years ago.