Santa left some behind!

Santa must have had a senior moment, he left a few behind

Harvest nears...

Fiona's wheat crop!
It will be close in another couple of weeks. Hoping for around 8 tonnes per Ha.

Mental health night!!

Been a long time, and it's great to be back! Gone are the worries about the Lucerne, poppies, pivots and spraying!!

Rain on the hay..

28mm on 80ha, not ideal!
Good for most other crops though, so on balance, a nice rain

UK

It's easy to become reflective at 11000 meters I find. However I think at this time I may be excused by readers, as my Nuffield travel is largely coming to an end. There will be a little more, so watch this space, however the chance to travel the world for nearly ten weeks on my own will not come again, ever.

It easily to judge myself harshly as I think back on the journey, to opportunities not fully exploited, or a contact missed. However, it is far more beneficial to concentrate on the amazing people I met on the way, the unforgettable experiences, both good and not so good, and the knowledge gained.

I was not initially going to spend long in the UK, however Fiona was kind enough to suggest I spend another couple of weeks there. I went along with this idea, after all, as I always say, Fi is never wrong! And on this, she was right on, as I have gained a huge amount. It is always good when your expectations are exceeded, and I don't think they were unrealistically low at the outset.

After spending time with Kate Morgan, current UK scholar studying animal welfare in the pig industry, including having to help vaccinate around 650 piglets after much red wine the evening before, I went north to Scotland. I had heard there was some excellent agriculture in Scotland, however I was not expecting to find the scale of soft fruit and horticulture. I visited scholars involved in all sorts of enterprises, grains, brassicas, soft fruits, potatoes, tourism, intensive livestock, and extensive grazing systems. There is no shortage of innovation here.

I also had a really good meeting at the Hutton Institute, the main R&D institution largely government funded, investing in all forms of agriculture. They have been involved in a project to map the barley genome, and are credited with the breakthrough. The benefits to flow from this in the future will be huge, from yield improvement, disease resistance, quality, to the way specific enzymes react in cell walls during the malting process.

A big thanks to 2012 scholar, Caroline Millar, who looked after me well, organised meetings for me and had me to stay for three nights in the 5 star luxury Hideaway Experience accommodation. It was absolutely fantastic, and set the bar high for the remainder of my journey!!

From there, via Ayrshire and Heather Wildman (2012 scholar) for a look at Scottish hill farming, to Cambridgeshire. By now my time was starting to come to an end, and it looked like I was not going to get to the UK conference which seemed like a great shame as I could gain a lot of contacts and catch up with scholars I had previously met at the contemporary scholars conference in February.

I was easily talked into staying on for another week, and with Fiona's unending support, rolled the Qantas ticket again!

I ended up staying with James Peck, 2011 scholar, for an extended period, meeting many interesting and highly relevant businesses. I found this time to be both stimulating and highly motivating. James has a great outlook on life, and has achieved a huge amount in a short time. I found his enthusiasm infective.

My time was now short again, a quick trip to Taunton, some more innovative businesses, both large and small, including a visit to the Bristol Ports and ABS, an animal feed import and blending facility located at the port.

After catching up with my relations in Sanderstead, it was time to do the dash across outer London to Heathrow, and return the Audi I had been driving for three weeks, and in the process had become quite attached to. A plug for Europcar for giving me a free upgrade, mind you, I had hired a car for the previous 8 weeks or so in various parts of the world!

As I have mentioned before, locating the rental car return, when running with not much time to spare, can be the crux of one's journey, and the added pressure of having to make sure the fuel tank is full has the potential to cause high stress levels. Luckily I was on my own and could describe the state of the traffic, other drivers, red traffic lights and the GPS telling me to "cross the roundabout, 5th exit", followed by the inevitable "recalculating" after losing count, in a language I deemed appropriate at the time, without offending others!!

Finally, a really big thanks to everyone who helped to make my journey of ten weeks so memorable and rewarding. Without the support, assistance and generosity I was afforded along the way it would have been impossible.

What a life.... Thank you

Europe

Following the Ukraine, I met up with Fiona in Amsterdam, and stayed with friends for a couple of days to catch our breath. As I have said before, the agriculture in the Netherlands is very intense, they make the most of every square meter.
The agricultural businesses we visited were small in terms of land area, but still had enviable turnover, a good reminder for regions such as Tasmania where scale is harder to achieve.
A big thank you to the Nuffield network in the Netherlands for hosting Fiona and I, and providing introduction.
Since the tour of the WW1 battle field tour as part of the global focus programme, I had wanted to return to Ypres, and the daily playing of the last post at Menin Gate, fortunately we made it in time, and I was again privelidged to witness this moving event.
The next stop was a friend in Switzerland, he is a grain grower and potato producer. In reality however, Swiss agriculture is more about landscape maintenance, and by his own admission, he feels he is a large scale green keeper! Society does seem happy to pay for the service, you just have to play by the rules...
It is a truly beautiful country, and you cannot help but feel energised, and somewhat wistful, gazing across Lake Geneva towards Mt Blanc. Next time perhaps?

Ukraine and Europe

A much anticipated stop, I had to get to the Ukraine to see what all the fuss was about! An early departure from Heathrow, meant a very early start for me. There were a few early flights to Eastern Europe, evidenced by the fact that the bars in the terminal were doing good business selling beer at a little after 5:30am! Boarding the Ukraine International Airlines flight in Vienna, I was relieved to see that the plane was at least reasonably modern, and the staff excellent. Landing at Odessa, however I wondered if my confidence had peaked too early as we touched down onto a runway an Ag pilot would find bumpy. At the half way point a mound nearly caused us to lose contact with the ground again, must help with take off though...
I look forward to comparing notes with scholars from the third GFP, as I saw only a tiny glimpse of the vast country, however I was fortunate enough to spend time in one place, so may have gained a different impression. My host was working for a group that had invested money in agriculture there for some time, however due to some agronomic issues have been unable to capitalise on the potential that exists. Current agronomic management is well on track to solving the problems, and the rewards should flow at the next harvest and beyond.
I was staying in Mykolayiv, a little over an hour east of Odessa. A closed city during the Soviet era, it was a large naval and ship building port. It must have been a centre of design and innovation, the relics in the form of slip ways and ship yards line the river, however the once planned and orderly laid out city needs some serious injection of funds. Unfortunately the financial crisis has halted that, and abandoned building sites are common. One can only imagine the sense of bewilderment felt by the population when the former regime left a little over 20 years ago.
Having said that, there was a form of charm in the city centre, it had a small town feel despite the population of around 500,000 people, and I felt safe in the main pedestrian mall late at night, and alone. Trees line both sides of many of the wide streets, and if you ignore the potholes, the cracked and uneven footpaths, and negotiate your way around missing man hole covers there is majesty in some of the older architecture. There is not much pre dating ww2, much of the country must have been annihilated during the conflict on the eastern front.
In the south of the country, the rainfall is quite low, despite this, a Western European farming model was adopted and is largely still maintained today. Land is ploughed, either with mould board ploughs or offset discs to a depth exceeding 200mm, then cultivated many times prior to planting. Despite that, many weeds survive and the use of knockdown herbicides and in crop weed control is not widespread, further depleting the precious moisture supply. Snow capture is an important water source as well, and the lack of stubble cover reduces the depth retained.
The adoption of moisture conservation and good weed control will make a significant difference to production, if the issues are similar across the country, it is easy to see why the Black Sea area will be a major player in international grain trading.

The following photos, the first, a wheat crop around 20 days old, the second a frowning Starlin, what would he be thinking!? The third, a typical soviet era grain store on a collective, and finally a glimpse of the country side.

Washington State

Dropped in to see Eisenhower Fellow, Bill Warren next. He farms at Dayton in Washington State, producing apples, and grains on land operated with his brothers.
The apple harvest had just finished in his orchard, and the large producers in the area were finishing up as well. Frosting through the mid west production areas has meant the prices for apples are high, and crops in Washington are generally good.
Grains are produced on the steeply rolling country, again, the tractor size has to compensate for the slopes with a 500hp challenger pulling a case air seeder that was around 10mt wide. It would require a different skill set to operate machinery on those slopes, a full chaser bin would push a tractor around on slippery stubble, with disastrous consequences.
On the way both to and from Dayton, I dropped in to two separate packing facilities. The first was part of a large farming business, with links into Nevada and California allowing product to also be sourced from South America. Mike Massey, who is running the packing operation is one of the most dynamic people you would meet anywhere, and had accumulated much knowledge in his time in agriculture. People like this are essential to the future of farming, a reminder that career paths and options should be enhanced and communicated to a wider audience.
En route to Seattle I was fortunate to spend some time with Chris Monson. He has a very impressive family owned orchard and packing business, the main emphasis is on apples, however they also produce cherries. 65% of the through put is their own fruit, and they employ around 110 people per shift inside the packing sheds, and an additional 50 outside, working 2 shifts of 8 hours. When harvesting, there is an extra workforce of 250-300 pickers. These people are largely of Mexican origin, and the staff turnover is low.

Oregon, Idaho, Washington

The journey continues...
The time in the US slips by, there is such a vast agricultural base, it would take a lifetime to see it all. My path took me back to south eastern Oregon, to another small irrigation district, producing corn, sugar beet, onions, ( yielding 110t/ha and some graded over 100mm size under drip irrigation), and Lucerne hay. Many farms have feedlots as well. Rex and Patty Maag, with whom I stayed, can hold 7500 head, but are currently finishing less than half that number. It is a very clean, professional operation, run with minimal labour input and utilising fodder grown on their surrounding farm.
Traditionally, the irrigation was all flood, however as is the case world wide, the push for efficiency is good for centre pivot manufacturers and increasingly, drip technologies.
The drive north, through Idaho to Kendrick, the home of Eisenhower fellow, Robert Blair was again punctuated by greatly contrasting country. From the fertile irrigated plains of the south, through forest and high plains, prairies, and steep, rugged canyons.
The farming around Kendrick is on the ridge tops. Relatively steep and narrow roads wind their way to the higher ground, where wheat, both winter and spring sown, lentils and chick peas are grown. Some of the land is very steep, all harvesters have automatic levelling systems, and tractors are about twice the size of what we require to do a similar job. Minimum till as opposed to no till is the technique of choice in the area, and disc seeders are the norm, in most cases Great Plains or John Deere double disc combines.
Dry land wheat yields over 6 tonnes per hectare and as high as 8 are common, on ground worth $5000 per hectare and receiving up to 580mm rainfall.
Robert is a leader in the field of remote sensing and precision Ag techniques, in particular, unmanned aerial vehicles and the potential to utilise the technology for real time crop scouting. This could be a real breakthrough for agricultural management in the not too distant future, reducing cost and increasing the accuracy of agronomy.

Oregon

From Fresno in California, I had to drive to Madras in Oregon. It is an eleven or so hour drive, and as I didn't leave Fresno until around 3:30 in the afternoon, Redding was about as far as I was going to get in one day. The journey through the sunset north of Sacramento will stay with me for a long time, golden rays filtered through the irrigation spray as the scenery changed and the light faded. The dusk was met in the middle of a huge rice production area, and darkness as farming gave way to forest and the promise of hills and ranges.
A full stomach and full tank of gas the next morning made for a timely start to the next six hours of discovery. A gain in altitude and reduction in population was a welcome change, some passes are over 5000 feet, before breaking onto small irrigated plains, south of the city of Bend.
Arriving at Marty and Nancy Richards property, Fox Hollow Ranch, it was a delight to stand and stretch, and although we had not met before, I was able to relax.
A full farm tour and associated conversation with a specialised, very particular, and highly successful seed, peppermint and Lucerne (alfalfa ) producer was the perfect tonic for the long drive.
The irrigation scheme, developed in the 1930s, covering around 60,000 acres, has seen many changes. Lack of farm scale has driven the need for innovation and the need to seek out specialised markets. Seed production fits the area well, onions, at one time garlic, and now hybrid carrot production is very important. I was also fortunate enough to visit a producer growing and storing 6 varieties of seed potatoes. Richard Macy grew processing potatoes, then fresh market, and now seed, looking for a higher margin and less volatility with each step.
A flight in a Cessna was the perfect way to get the full picture of the district, the day was clear and still, perfect to see the agriculture and a lap around Mt Jefferson and the foothills.

Further on California

I will round off my tour through the highly diverse agriculture of California, in an attempt to get up to date with blogger. I have been hosted by various people for the past few days, so the blog takes second place to stimulating conversation and company.
Following the almonds, I had some very interesting and varied meetings, everything from a Seed Central event at UC Davis, to citrus production, remote sensing technology relaying real time moisture readings, (prioritising by need, and or economic return, irrigation and other management functions), seed producers, vegetable and turf production and lots of miles on the road.
It was certainly a whirlwind visit, and I'm sure I failed to make the most of my time, however I take lessons from the diversity and ingenuity of the producers and processors. The climate and soils certainly assist, in places the rainfall is only around 150 mm, however where there is irrigation, there always seems to be heated discussion (at best) over water rights and security.
As I drove north into Oregon, the population density of California is highlighted by contrast, the country towns are once again small towns, where locals occasionally lock their cars in the street as they meet and have a burger for lunch. The air is once again clear, the views crisp and frosty mornings a reminder that the winter is fast approaching.

Almonds

Dropped in to see Lane and Joyce Parker, with whom I stayed a night during the previous visit on the Global Focus tour. It was good to catch up again, and cement the friendship created in June. Some home cooking and environment other than a motel room become precious at times like this.
A tour of the almond groves managed by Lane, during the harvest, including a new development on a very hilly and stoney site, where planting is about to commence, gave insight into an industry about which I knew very little. All the trees had been shaken, and sweeping was underway, as well as the actual harvesting of the nuts off the ground. Prices are very high, and the quality achieved was high in Lane's case, however this was not representative of all growers. Insect damage is high this year, and it seemed to me the attention to detail and timeliness of operations, for whatever reason may have been a bit off. These are such critical factors in any agricultural production system.
Lane gets some nuts de hulled and packed under the brand California Royale. It is a very impressive business with product traceability and food safety at the fore of what they do. Every load of almonds, whether in bins or bulk, is assigned a bar code, each bin is tested for quality, including pathogens on entry to the site, and every treatment or procedure carried out is recorded against the bar code. As a grower, you know exactly how much product you have to sell, and the quality parameters. The almonds remain the property of the grower, and can be sold when, and to whom the grower chooses. The systems developed to track inventory and all aspects of food safety must be some of the best in the industry.

California

Well here I am back in California. Feeling a little low, the best tonic seemed to be to head towards Yosemite, I think some pictures will suffice over my attempts to describe the views...
Needless to say, a day and a half and I was recharged, ready to hit the road again.

Chile to California

Well, I made it back to Santiago airport, fully expecting the task of finding the rental car return car park to be the greatest challenge. Isn't it funny how the things we worry about most tend to turn out a whole lot easier, and something not even contemplated turns out to be far more troublesome. Finding the exit for the airport off the Pan American highway was nearly impossible, and I found myself going in circles in peak hour traffic in Santiago. Luckily I had heaps of time!
Prior to the long drive from Temuco, I had a very interesting meeting with a seed production company, SG 2000. It is majority owned and run by Brian Blackburn. He also owns a large Estancia, steeped in the history of generations of ownership, on which SG 2000 grows seed crops, largely canola for the North American market. I had a fascinating day with Brian, who fitted me into his extremely busy schedule, and then invited me into his home to have dinner with his family. It is gestures such as this which make this such a rich and rewarding journey.
On the whole I leave Chile with the feeling that it is somewhat overlooked in terms of the potential for investment compared to its larger neighbours, such as Argentina. Certainly the benefit of a stable, predictable government is hard to quantify, however policy failure can extract a huge cost on business.
Finally, I understood there may be some accuracy issues with the GPS navigation in Chile, and this turned out to be the case. ( American Jill and I sometimes didn't get on well, Ausie Karen is turning out to be far more my type) It is another instance where it pays to listen to one's instincts. For example, when you get the feeling you are going the wrong way down a one way street, you probably are, and if no traffic is following you across a large bridge, and there are pedestrians everywhere, the bridge is probably closed...
I survived, and it was fun!
A big thanks must go to the people who hosted me, and took time out of their busy schedules to show me around and explain their businesses.

Osorno

On the 2nd, I drove to the 22000ha farm that has been bought by a group of NZ investors, Manuka. It is a very impressive operation. The property is in the process of being re developed, all around the model of 200ha farms, each running 600 cows. This way, labour can be kept simple, and the infrastructure cost minimised, utilising 40 a side herringbone sheds. It is not common to see a project this size without rotary platforms. By 2019 they plan to run 45000 cows, and will require around 4000ha of country to run dry stock.
My first comment to Chris White, the development manager, was " if God was a dairy farmer he would probably live around here somewhere ". It must be nearly as good as it gets, a large, gently undulating out wash plain, 1800mm rainfall, soft, dark brown soils with organic matter levels up to 20% ( note not organic carbon ), rivers on two sides, and a view over Lago Rupanco to the snow capped volcanic cones of the Andes. If it sounds good, it's because it is!! Not surprisingly, the land is not as cheap as it once was, bringing $ 8-10000 Au per Ha.
Interestingly, the pH tends to be low, and lime is expensive. I calculated it to be over 6 times what we pay at home, cart and spread. Theirs is just a delivered price, until recently, in 50kg bags. Now it can be sourced in 1 tonne bags, still not bulk. Fertiliser comes in sacks as well.

On the way to Manuka

Setting off from Ancud, after being looked after very well by James Mussparat, an Australian who has been living in Chile since the early 90s. He is involved in many business ventures, and has a block of land which he has started to clean up. Logging years ago has meant there is no timber left, only regrowth bamboo. Once cleared the land requires lime, and the phosphorus levels tend to be on the low side, but the quality of the soils ensure it is well worth while. There is no doubt that giver the amount of rainfall, the property is capable of growing a massive amount of grass.
Time to once more put all my faith into the GPS, and head to Manuka SA.

Long drive in Chile

Arriving back in Santiago, after the flight from Montevideo across the Andes and vast plains of Argentina, with my possessions now consisting of a megre 4.6kg of luggage, it was time to come to grips with the next leg. That consisted of picking up a hire car in downtown Santiago, and somewhat dry of mouth and moist of palm, launching into the traffic with little more than a GPS and an unreliable portion of hope.
Once on Ruta 5, one is kept alert by the toll stations placed less than an hour apart, a frantic scramble for cash, a dose of fresh air and a short conversation of "hola", and "gracias", selected from the frightfully small, and true to adult learning style of one new concept per day, slowly expanding Spanish vocabulary.
An overnight in Temuco, and onward to Chiloe, a total of nearly 1500 km through productive farmland and soils to die for. The Andes on the left hand side, unfortunately hidden behind cloud, but close enough to feel. One day......
A short ferry crossing, and I arrived at James' place in Ancud, a small fishing village facing the pacific. One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, back in the 60s, decimated the island, lowering it a full meter into the ocean.
Preparing for another round of stimulating meetings over the next few days.

Uruguay continued...

As is always the case, a week is never long enough. Although Uruguay is a relatively small country, there is a lot to see, and the agriculture is developing fast. Land prices have risen dramatically over the past few years, 6 to 10,000 US per ha were quoted, with even higher prices for the best arable land. (The cheapest land is apparently in Paraguay, at around 250 US a ha, however the business environment still sounds a bit "exciting" although it is improving)
From what I could gather in my brief time, there is still native grass land covering vast areas, and this can be improved at a relatively low cost. Investment has come in from Argentina, and with it, technology in terms of crop production, leading to rapid growth in soy, corn and wheat. The soils lack the depth and fertility of neighbouring Argentina, and are quite variable in the geological origin.
Traditionally, the agriculture was based on extensive grazing, and there was a strong opinion that a rotation including a pasture phase is vital to long term sustainability. It is perhaps worth noting this opinion came from people more involved in livestock production, and I wonder if is common to hear this when any area is undergoing land use change.
Infrastructure is at a reasonable level, the major roads were good, and I suspect it will continue to develop as production rises. There seemed to be no postal service, I was told a strike had been running in excess of five years...
It is said you can tell a lot about a society by the cars people drive, here there is a big mix. From the latest toyotas to every conceivable Chinese import, right through to ancient European small cars such as Fiats, made largely of rust, the wheels maintaining odd angles to the road as their drivers swerve traffic and cavernous potholes in the narrow tree lined streets.
Other curiosities include the fact that milk comes in bags, once the corner has been snipped open, the bag is placed in a plastic jug, and carefully poured out.
The national pastime, apart from cooking vast slabs of meat and long strips of ribs on large mesh barbecues, both inside and outside, is the preparation and consumption of mate. A tea like infusion, consumed through a kind of silver straw with a sort of paddle in the end. A dried, hollowed out type of squash is usually covered on the outside with leather, the fine dried leaves are put in, water added from a thermos, most often carried at all times tucked under one elbow, ensuring most activities are carried out one handed. It is quite a social drink, passed around between friends as they catch up and chat. Apparently the consumption in small amounts is relaxing, greater consumption leads to increased alertness and concentration. I think it must be an acquired taste, although not unpleasant.

Uruguay

Staying near the village of Rodriguez, with Suzie, an expat Tasmanian, after the first afternoon in Montevideo, a mix of architecture and living standards. Beautiful old buildings derelict, while some areas are being redeveloped, including modern shopping centres. A mix of old and new cars, and the rubbish being taken away by horse and cart. Whilst at lunch, the rear car window was smashed, and all my stuff taken. I had phone, wallet and one passport in my pocket! After a short time the police arrived, took as many details as we could translate and left us. 15 minutes later, the police called, and Suzie was able to establish they had recovered my laptop bag, including iPad and Aus passport!!
Now back in town buying clothes etc.

Off again

Well, here I go...
First an overnight in Melbourne, then to Santiago!

Washington DC and onward....

Hi again from the air, or at least an airport lounge to start with.
We are moving again, this time from Washington DC to Toronto. It's often said that Canadians are more like Australians, and having been there a couple of times it always feels relaxed, with a relatively small population.

Washington had a capital city atmosphere, I can see how it's a monument to the democratic world and it wasn't lost on me as our host Hope Pjesky led a small, but hardy band of us around the highlights starting at the crack of dawn on Sunday. Breakfast would have been a smart move prior, as there was nothing available until mid morning.
The monuments were good to visit, all those things we see in movies there in front of you. The Lincoln and the Vietnam memorials were both very moving, and I was thankful we made the effort to be early, as the crowds were building fast, and both the temperature and humidity rising. Apparently it is something to see many of them at night as they are all beautifully lit - next time....

The plan of an early night in order to be fresh for two full days of briefings went a little awry due to an unexpected invitation to a gala dinner for 1500 people to celebrate the Washington restaurant awards. MLA have one of four stands, showcasing and serving fine Australian food, wine and beer. Boags Premium always tastes good, but in that setting I felt a little pride that our local brew was front and centre. Pity we didn't supply barley to them last season, but I'm impressed to see the marketing and promotion is still very strong for a relatively small brewery.
And the lamb chops were to die for, even Richard the kiwi approved!

Flying north to Toronto, city lights have been a constant below us, I only wish it was daytime to get a feel of the landscape as I did from California. A very bright half moon is centre of the small window, funny how I haven't missed it's presence over the last few weeks, but seeing it so clearly again.....

Had a very interesting briefing regarding the American Farm Bureau, the highly influential farm lobby group. They have 6.25 million members, paying an annual subscription of $50-60.
Every year they develop a complete policy framework, voted on at a county, then state and finally, national level. The structure gives members input and ownership of the policies and is greatly respected among politicians.

Well, that was a short flight, and on a very small plane considering it is international travel!

Now in Guelph, Ontario, the weather is a bit cooler, and the Canadian Nuffield hosts have been kind, as the meetings today were informal and not too long.
Land prices have gone up massively over the last few years, a succession of good seasons and high prices has meant producers are in a good position to expand if the land is available. $12,000 per acre, (yes, acre!) is common in Ontario.
There is still a fairly high degree of protection for Ag producers, and interest rates start at around 3.5% for 3 years.( including margin )