Alltech president opens tour at WKU-Glasgow

By AMBER DILLEY
Glasgow Daily Times

GLASGOW November 11, 2008 01:31 pm

— Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech, an animal health company that provides proteins and feed additives to feed production companies, visited Western Kentucky University-Glasgow campus Monday.
Lyons visited to speak about taking advantage of the opportunities Kentucky provides and looking forward to the future.
“Alltech has an exciting vision of what the future of agriculture in Kentucky can look like and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share that,” Lyons said. “I really believe that Kentucky can become a global leader in advanced agriculture. We have an opportunity to position ourselves as the Silicon Valley of the agriculture industry and to energize our rural community in the process.”
Lyons, who started Alltech in 1980 to pioneer natural yeast fermentation and enzyme technology for the animal feed industry, said that leaders in Kentucky need to develop the state into the agricultural version of Silicon Valley.
“This is a crying shame,” Lyons said. “We want to bring revenues in, but every single day, trucks roll out of Kentucky with money in them. They roll with trucks filled with milk and roll out with trucks filled with your money. We import $250 million worth of milk a year. That’s money that could be staying in Kentucky. Kentucky has the production plants, the processing plants and the state dairy farms make more money than ones in other states.”
Lyons also touched on creating a superbrand of Alltech, starting with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Louisville.
Lyons added that having the equestrian games in Kentucky seemed like a no-brainer.
“The horse capital of the world doesn’t have an equestrian program,” he said. “Isn’t that silly?”
Dr. Juanita Bayless, associate dean and director for the Glasgow campus, said Lyons is a great example of the spirit the school teaches their students to have.
“Our students hear us talk about engagement, about global industry, about the future and they are surrounded today by those who believe in these things and are looking to build a better future,” she said.
Dr. Gary Ransdell, president of WKU, added: “What excites me most about this gentleman is his company is entrepreneurial, global, scientific and collaborative. We try to teach our students to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and have the confidence to go out and create something global. We could not find anyone else in this state that epitomizes international reach better than Pearse Lyons.
“The company also understands how important it is to collaborate with colleges and universities to help further what they do as a corporate enterprise.”
Lyons said the university has to understand what it needs to do and step up to help.
“When they do that, the opportunities come,” he said. “It’s not about money coming in, it’s about ideas coming in. It’s not about bringing in money or grants for the university, it’s about educating. What we can do for Barren County is open their eyes to the opportunities that exist here. What you need on the city council are the yay-sayers, not the nay-sayers, who are enthusiastic about growing the community.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.