Summary of Scotland

The Scots really turned it on for us. We met some great people and there generosity was enjoyed by us all. We saw some great operators and were impressed by the younger farmers we met who were really getting into improving productivity. We went to a potato, raspberry and strawberry grower who was a Nuffield scholar. His gross turnover was in excess of 7 mill. We saw a potato grower who had a huge operation which incorporated a grading aspect of his business for other farmers and sold to a company with a contract arrangement that meant, the company they sold to had exclusive rights to the growers produce, but no price for the grower in the contract. This was am interesting producer/processor model that I would like to explore more deeply. We visited a free range chicken operation that produced 1.4million eggs a day!!!! Another nuffield scholar. He also has some caged birds that he had just updated the set up to meet the new "consumer" demanded cages. The cost of  his grain was skyrocketing and surpassing any level of profitability.
We attended a dinner with 60 invited guests. Many of them Nuffield scholars of Scotland. Each of the Australian scholars had to present their story. It was a great evening and was written up in the local newspaper. There was a guest speaker too who spoke of the challenges facing Scotland. The challenges were so familiar. One thing we all agreed as a group of observers/travellers is that everywhere we have travelled had access to labour from underprivelidged countries. This provided a solid work ethic base for the business to operate with.
Will share more soon

leaving Scotland today

Been busy in Scotland have to run for now but will share more later. This is Glamis Castle. The Queen mother was born here

scotland is great too

Have had a great day in Scotland. Hosted and entertained by the Nuffields scholars of  Scotland. Went to a business , yesterday that processes game, shot by the "Gentry" or those who can afford the sport. He processes 6000 birds a day. this might be pigeon grouse or pheasant. He also does other game like venison. Most amazing though is Hare. Who would eat that.?Must tell my boys, next shoot they do, not to feed it to the dogs!!!!!! This visit brought up the convesrsation of how the community perceives this industry. In the UK there are paid game keepers, and farmers don't crop up to the fences/hedges as they leave a band of grassland for the game. They get paid to keep the animals fed in the harsh winter to be shot in the spring/summer. The response I got upon questioning  this was; - people feel a sense of disconnect with the land and this provides a way of "getting back to nature". I find this a little ironic but good.  What I'm thinking is that we both have a urban/ rural disconnect but In Australia due to the vast distances we  also have a geographical disconnect. This is not the case here as villages are within eye shot of everywhere.  Remember too the animals are out of eyeshot a lot of the time  and housed indoors where the community don't see them like in Australia. (Yesterday I saw dairy cows grazing and it is a beustiful sight.) However we both have a demographic disconnect whereby all of the western countries have a gap between what goes on on farm and what is understood by the modern farming of today. The Uk farmer believes they struggle with the widening gap of the community around them. I reckon in Australia due to the geographic issues we have a double wammy.
Have had a little time this morning for breaky before hitting the road again.
I am staying with  A Scottish family tonight so will share more on Scotland tomorrow

France

France was good. Just thinking about the trip to date, and upon reflection, one thing I haven't seen is a lot of is, livestock as you drive around. All the animal are in barns mainly so accross the fields right across all the countries  I've been in is an absence of animal. Very different to here (Australia).

Washington

I'm in Washington. Meetings all day on Captiol Hill and with the Australian Embassy. Meant to have a day off tomorrow before flying off to France in the evening but the government is preparing to shut down. It because they can't agree on passing a budget and the current budget which has been extended several times runs out today. That means all services in Washington will stop. Its big news over here. An interesting time to be here!

I really looked forward to being here and I have not been disappointed. Have been getting really great information for my project. There is a lot of concern over the social contract between farmers and the community being broken. I'm a little disappointed there is no strategy to address this developed and implemented here. They are as perplexed and frustrated by low margins and demands from environment pressures and climate policies and immediate issues like pressures on the subsides being challenged to be thinking too strategically too. However they are concerned about the PETA's and Humane societies very cohesive approach and budget to go with it too.
We visited the Australian Embassy today as well. Off to dinner tonight with our host an Eisenhower Scholarship recipient who has acquainted us with the underground, Capitol hill and arranged last night for a night tour of DC.  It's been a fruitful few days.  The group are a great bunch to travel with, We all work well together, and watch out for each other. The true nuffield fellowship that we witnessed and were astonished by in Spring when the Alumni gathered to announce our scholarships is truly developing in this group.

Caught up with an old friend today. Its a small world

Today I caught up with an old friend. tim  nelson who was CEO of West Vic dairy whilst I was chair. Its a small world. I also met Harold Rudy. Who was at dinner with the nuffiled crew and who Tim know's and introduced me to. He developed the Dairy SAT envrionmental program here in Canada that was then taken and adapted to Australian situation. Our farm was a pilot farm in Western Vicroria.What a small world Hey!
Tomorow my daughter turns 8. Its a tough journey, rewarding but full on. Its times like these you realise this.

Niagara Falls. and OFAC

Canada has been great. Today i attended a conference run by the Ontario farm animal council. OFAC, Two fantastic speakers talked of the importance of addressing the onslaught of the Activists  threatening our  social licence to produce food. Canada feel that the groups working to achieve a goal of a vegan world have been active in Australia, USA, Europe, and are now focusing on Canada. The way they are looking at developing a strategic approach to this is so exciting. They recognise the importance of working as a coalition across commodities.  One quote I loved was "We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately" Benjamin Franklin. The approach is to work with the community to build trust. through values then science then economics.  There is a heightened interest in food so right now is the opportunity to embrace, this time and change the perception of farmers in the minds of consumers. We have been hearing up until now all about the challenge of feeding the population as it heads towards 9 billion and today I learnt that we certainly have the ability to do that but not without earning the social licence to do so. (I'll explain more in my report).
PS Yesterday we saw Niagara falls WOW!!!!!

I like Canada

We arrived in Canada at midnight last night and drove three hours   this morning west to nearly Detroit. We visited a sheep feed lot. on a Canadian Nuffield scholars place. Its really good being on a farm that you are able to really explore. We then went and saw Miscanthus. This is a long course grass with bamboo characteristics. they are burning it as a fuel source to run the green houses. we then saw a large tomato greenhouse farm. In Canada  there are 1600 hectares under glass and another 90 under construction. Must be money in it!. There are really only two buyers Heinz and another smaller player. Tomorrow I am keen to explore how this works from the suppliers point of view. I hear they have a fairly regulated environment that assists with negotiations for the farmers.
We had a really good presentation today from a director of the grain growers of Ontario. They have done a lot of work raising awareness and promoting agriculture and educating the community. They have evidence that it works, and returns dividends to agriculture. They don't disagree however that its an ongoing job. Lastly today we went to a winery and were taught how to understand and taste wines. Look out now!!!!

USA

We have just completed the California leg of the journey. This was an interesting place!!! Huge agricultural region. There is a vally running right the middle of  California. Here they produce neally everything you can think off.  We saw pistascho. Alnond Walnut, dairy, sheep, strewberries tomatos lettuce, articoke etc etc. It is amazing. Rainfall is around 7 to 17 inches. The district is a proud irrigation region.We went to a plant that turned the towns waste into water to be put onto lettuce. Yesterday we went to the farm lobbying organisation. We sat in on an Animal Weofare meeting. It was just like at home. The farmers were the same the issues were the same the challenges the same. That worried me I thought USA might have had the edge on the approach we should have to strategiclally addresss problems.  We saw a 250,000 head feed lot. We dined in his resturant on the steak. It was good steak. Much better than the Zebu steak we ate in Brazil!!!!

The day we arrived we went to Yosemite National park. Encountered record snow falls of 7 foot. Check out the amount of harvesters on the farm we visited. (There were more i just couldnt fit them in the photo. (sorry about the way I blog. Im in an airport and its always rushed and Im not too sure what I am doing with this blogging thing yet. No time for correcting either. !!!!!!)