Nuffield Spray it 2010

Fiji with Heidi and Isaac

2010-08-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

I arived into Fiji on Monday morning and meet Heidi and Isaac on Monday night. What a great way to finish 10 weeks of Nuffield Study and 16 weeks of travel this year.

Close to the END

2010-08-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

As i appraoch the end of my travels it is time to thank my followers and all those who have helped with my Nuffield trip. I hope you have been able to follow my footsteps and understand my journey. It has been an amazing expeience which will evolve over the years to come. It is with the support of Nuffield and all those involved in the spray application and ag industry which has made my journey very rewarding.
Now the hard part, to get my thoughts together so our industry can continue to move forward, be profitable and sustainable. Spray it right.........TO FIJI next.......

UC Davis

2010-08-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

On Thursday i visited University of california at Davis just outside Sacramento. I visited Ken Giles in the Ag Engineering Dept who has visited Australia a few times and is at the for front of new technology development. He developed the Pulse Width Modulating Solenoid which is called the AIM Command system on most CASE SP sprayers. While there are guys like this in the industry technology will continue to evolve.

California Dept Pesticide Regulation

2010-08-11T21:19:00.001-07:00

I visited the California Department of Pesticide Regulation in Sacramento today. They are the best in the world....Balancing food production, environmental issues and community and worker health is a big job as California is a unique place. It provides America with half of its fruit and vegetables but is a large urban population. It is interesting that Agriculture gets all the blame for pesticide use however more than HALF of the products regulated by DPR are for commercial, industrial and home use.

Another time zone

2010-08-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday afternoon i made it to Sacramento, California and another time zone. This is the fourth zone in the States i have gone through. I flew through Seattle, Washington today and another flight and airport complete --- only a few more to go.

Denver, A great City

2010-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in Denver, Colorado. It is a great place which is very clean with fresh air for a city. Number 16 St. is great for a walk, there is a big bear outside the Art Centre which gives Bundy a run for his money and The Curtis Double Tree hotel was a funky place to stay and good value. On Saturday night i had a BBQ with Jason and Chelse. Great company, and look forward to seeing them in Aus one day.

AutoFarm ParaDyme-the new steering revolution

2010-08-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

Friday i was with Jason Kidd and Aussie working in Denver,CO with Autofarm. This is the view from the top of his office which is the call centre. ParaDyme is the new autosteer system just launched in Australia but in the US for over a year. Check it out at www.gpsfarm.com It has WiFi, and cell phone built and can link a number of networks or towers. Faults are easily fixed by the remote connection to a technichan who can see what is happening in the field from his office and make adjustments on the go.

On the edge of the Rockies

2010-08-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains around Denver Colorado. It is amoungst ranchers, running water, tourism and the wild west.

Loveland Products

2010-08-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

On Thursday i learnt more about adjuvants and water conditioners. Including surfactants, penetrants, organosilicants, stickers, conditioners, drift management, acidification agents, antifoaming agents from Loveland Industries based in Greeley, Colorado. It is another complex issue we need to know more about to improve deposition and uptake whilst reducing drift.

Wednesday-Lunch time at Ole's, Paxton, Nebraska

2010-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Greg and i had lunch on Wednesday just off hwy 80 at Ole's Steakhouse in Paxton. Not y0ur typical Aussie restraunt. All this game was hunted around the 1950's from around the world and is an example of what people like to do. Interesting place....

North Platte, Nebraska

2010-08-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday i was in North Platte, Nebraska which is on HWY 80 the main interstate road connecting East and West USA. The University fo Nebraska has several farms for reserch and extension work involved with irrigation, nutrient, spraying, cattle and field crops (corn, beans, wheat, sunflowers). The area only recieves 16-19" annual rainfall so irrigation is widespread using centre pivots. Dryland crops in the corner of pivots is also done usually wheat, corn, fallow. Also saw sugar beets and pumkins growing. Research is conducted on drought tolerent corn varieties.

Tuesday - Ohio to Nebraska

2010-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

I said goodbye to Bill and JoAnn and flew to Lincoln, Nebraska via Chicago then drove 100 mile to Grand Island, to tour the New Holland Combine factory. It makes the Case 20 & 80 series combines for the world and yellow CR combines for Canada, US and Australia.
I drove west on Hwy 80, 200 mile to North Platte.

Monday, Last day in Ohio

2010-08-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

Monday i toured with Bill again. I saw the dentist to get a filling fixed, went to a Sprayer dealership, John Deere outlet, and Honda car factory and car research testing facility. The car track is a 7 mile circuit with many different tests (water, cobble stones, skid pan, hills etc). Cars get tested 24 hours a day driving at different speeds. Bill farms inside the track and has beans and corn. The factory purchased 8000acres to build it in the 80's. This is Bill and JoAnn's farm

Saturday night dinner

2010-07-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday night with Bill and Joanne and their daugher and her family (Jana, David and 3 children) at Spring Hill. The kids were great fun and all very proud of their hunting prices. And they love John Deere. Great night...

Farm Tour with Bill & Gary

2010-07-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Touring with Bill and his friend Gary Bahan started at Breakfast in town, then went to see his shop and grain store. Then visited a dairy farm with 3000hd rotary, ethonal plant, feed mill for chicken farms in local area, and inspecting corn and soy bean crops. Corn is progressing well with some late crops still to polinate which is getting late. A father and son who own a farm in South Africa came for the local tour, which made our day very interesting.

Country Ohio with Bill

2010-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

I am staying with Bill Bayliss (room buddy from Nuffield International conference, Washington DC) on a farm in mid Ohio, corn, soybean country. We stopped for dinner on Friday night at the best Bologna sandwich place in Waldo. It does look like the picture too.

Ohio, Research USDA

2010-07-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to visit USDA Ag Research on Application Technology in Wooster, Ohio. Professor Krause and Dr. Heping Zhu with their team of engineers have developed prototypes and designed software for farmer/ consultants to use.

Teejet, then fly to Cleveland, Ohio

2010-07-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

It was a fascinating visit to Spraying Systems to see the range of products they produce. The Ag range which includes nozzles, valves, controllers and gps euipment as well as the industrial products for the food and manufacturing industry.
Products are developed and tested and evaluated and produced to a very high standard and quality. Components are sold world wide and used on most sprayers manufactured around the world. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to see the dedication and scale and development that is required to meet the demands of farmers and industry.
A few hours at Chicago O'hare airport then a 50 minute flight to Cleveland, Ohio.

Wednesday Calgary to Chicago

2010-07-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

Drop Hire car off at airport with 2750km for 9 days hire and fly to Chicago O'Hare. Arive at lunch time and get a limo to Wheaton, IL a 50 minutes drive. Pat from Spraying Systems took me out for dinner then at the factory on Thursday morning.

Tuesday - Luseland to Calgary

2010-07-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday i had a tour of a farm in Luseland, Saskatechewan with a neighbour from home (Ian) on Lorne, Brad and Linda's Scholer's farm. Canola looked great and some summer fallowing work was required to take care of some trouble weeds. Nice soil and country.

Monday- Saskatoon

2010-07-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Monday i had the day with Tom Wolf in Saskatoon. He is the leading researcher in Canada on Nozzles. Then i drove 21/2 hours west to Luseland to stay the night with Ian and Fiona Schirmers friends, Lorne and Linda Scholer.

Regina to Craven to Saskatoon

2010-07-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

From Regina i drove to a very small town called Craven where i meet the field rep for Capstan Ag who market and develop the pulse width modulation solenoid. The Sharp Shooter and AIM Command system regulates the flow at the tip by pulsating - giving better speed range and control of pressure and droplet size. It reduces the need for more standard nozzles and gives great flexibility. We meet farmer Jim as saw some machinery, had a pilsner at the local hole and then drove to Saskatoon arriving at 9.30pm Saturday night.

Bayer Crop Science

2010-07-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Friday i visited Bayer Crop Science in Regina, SK. They formulate chemicals at the factory and also evaluate new compounds at their research farm at Indian Head. It is one of 6 sites around the world which sreen new compounds. This happens 10 years prior to its release as a commerial product. Lots of work goes into a new product and regulation is very strict. Bayer have a direct relationship with growers and package seed, seed treatments and chemicals to give a growers better deals.

Drive Alberta to Regina, Saskatechewen

2010-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday i drove 800 km from Three Hills in Mid Alberta to Regina in South east Saskatechewen. Highway 1 is the trans Canada Hwy. No GPS needed. Went though grazing and oilfield country then as i got closer to Regina some cropping country with lentils, canola and wheat which was also saturated with water. Lots of hay was been made along the way as well.

Lacombe and Red Deer, Alberta

2010-07-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday i drove north to Lacombe to see a farmer and early adopter of modern techniques. He is doing variable rate fertiliser application and would like to move towards CTF and inter row planting. Crops look great but were saturated with water and a little late and may not mature in time (before the frost and cold weather). He has had 18" rain when normally only gets 10".
Also visited lacombe research station to learn about weed management and research which focuses on system appoach and integrated weeed manaagement which includes silage, plant density, diversity of crops etc.
Also visited a CASE dealer to look at the Patriot sprayer with Capstan nozzles. Doing PD work on combines.

Alberta, gas & oil, canola & wheat

2010-07-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday i was with Beyond Agronomy consultant Steve visiting fields to check for insects and disease. All good with the heavy soils at saturation point and the lighter sandy knoles showing lots of potential yield (peas, canola and wheat). The amount of oil and gas wells on farms is incredible as they are scattered all over the district and another income stream for farmers. Great work Steve with the introduction of CTF and inter row seeding.

Calgary to Lethbridge to Three Hills

2010-07-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

I said good bye to Calgary (Cow boy town) and went south to Lethbridge to see some applied research on spray application and demonstration. On the drive there were some crops under water stress, canola flowering and wheat looking pretty good except for low areas flooded with water.
From Lethbridge i drove north to Three Hills to stay with Steve and Vanessa Larocque, who run a business called Beyond Agronomy advising farm businesses on the best up to date information on sustainable agriculture in western Canada.

Sunday Drive into Bear Country

2010-07-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

From Calgary i drove east on Hwy 1 into the Rocky's. First stop was Canmore for coffee then onto Lake Louise which is high up in the mountains but has an amazing lake. The colour and surrounds were incredible and well worth the visit. Julie and i then went for a late lunch in Banff and another must see place. Back into Cowboy town, (Calgary) at 7.30pm after another amazing adventure.

Banff, The Rockies

2010-07-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

I drove to Banff with Julie, a town 100km from Calgary in the Rocky Mountains. Very popular tourist spot.

Calgary Stampede

2010-07-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

The greatest show on earth they say.. Calgary stampede put on a show with plenty of cowboys doing there stuff on a great summers day. Plenty of activities, shows and displays. The bull ride was awesome, a autioneers from Australia and a ice scating rock and roll show to finish off. Good day in Calgary with lots of Aussies in the crowd.

Ontario, Canada

2010-07-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Visited Ridgetown, a 3 hour drive from Toronto to visit Helmut about his work and extension on spray application. The Guelph Uni has a campus and runs research trials. We inspected trials from a JD Self propelled Sprayer.
Thursday i was at Elora at a farm expo where 200 farmers came for a day to see the research and get practical information from soil health, nutrient cycling, nitrogen losses, new energy bio crops, soybean and corn production, improving wheat yields, and spray application.
The crops look good with wheat harvest starting and early corn very big and progressing well although some hot weather may impact in some areas.

In Canada

2010-07-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Made it to another country. I flew out of Frankfurt, Germany via Helsinki to Toronto, Canada. Stayed with Denise and the girls then traveled to Ridgetown, Ontario then back north to Elora. I am going to a farm Expo which is part of the Guelph University Research farm.
Lots of Maize and soybeans in the area. Weather warm and humid. Wheat harvest starting.

Spain World Cup Champions

2010-07-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Spain won the world cup 1-0 to Netherlands, Hot weather in Europe and devasting floods in China. Preparing for Canada, taking in the sites of Frankfurt. Just over half way and enjoying the experience. New challenges await, new people, opinions and farming systems in another country.

In Germany Update

2010-07-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the soccer world cup i am in Frankfurt. Mark Webber has won the British formula 1 Grand Prix and i have travelled by train at over 200km/hr, seen the German countryside and had another local German beer. The city is exicited with all the travellers and cafes warming up to watch the football. Still hot. Preparing for Canada

JKI, Braunschweig

2010-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Friday 9th July i spent at JKI, Braunschweig which a research institute for The Application Techniques in Plant Protection. It researchs many application issues focused on techniques to reduce the impact on the environment, improve chemical efficacy and personal protection. I was impressed with the range of issues covered and the research included
1. droplet size and drift reduction potential (DIX)
2. Tank agitation performance
3. Boom stability and influence on application. (horizontal movement has the biggest impact on distribution)
4. Boom spray distribution using pattenator (boom height and nozzle wear)
5. auto boom shut off assessment
6. Airflow assessment of airblast sprays
7. Boom spray residue testing and cleaning procedures
8. seed dressing dust detection
9. measure flow and pump rate to determine pump wear
10. wind tunnel measurements

Another Country - Germany

2010-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

On Thursday i flew from Copenhagen to Berlins newest air port opened in 2008 (Schoenfeld) and caught a train to Braunschweig a 2 hr ride west of Berlin. As i had dinner tonight i looked over a field sown with Triticale only 5m from the table i sat at.
Now that is integration. Can it work in Australia???
Maybe the lesson is to education and involve. We all need to live.

Time in Denmark

2010-07-08T13:18:00.000-07:00

My experienced Danish guide, Per Gummer Andersen gave me a royal tour of research & development, farms, sprayers, history, countryside, buildings, Copenhagen, Viking history, Battle fields, the Islands and bridges and all that make Denmark a unique place to live. However, the government and media seem to think food comes from the factory and they want to impose more restrictions on the farmers. They want a countryside of forest but with food on the table (what a world???????)
Thanks Per for a great lesson..............

Hardi Factory, Denmark

2010-07-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Per took me to the Hardi factory on the island of Falster. It has a 6.7ha covered area with 500 people working there. They make most of their own components including pumps, lids, nozzles, tank. Anthony an Aussie but living in Denmark for 25 years showed us the factory and described their continual development and education of users, researchers and dealers.

Farming on an Island

2010-07-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Denmark is made up of lots of islands. I visited Lars a very inspiring farmer who owns land on a small island (40ha). He is value adding his products by turning wheat into flour (for sale at the restraunt), mustards seed into a dressing, lets out a restraunt (great food), holiday units next to the farm, unique farm business with neighbours. Has also worked with Hardi Development to bring better products to the market.

Research at Flakkebjerg by Aarhus University, Denmark

2010-07-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 6th July went to see research at the leading Denmark Institute.
Denmark has legislated for reduced pesticide use so research is focused on dose rate rather than drift reduction. Importance is on droplet deposition and effectiveness measured by lethal dose curves to determine the best rate.
Research projects
1. Intelligence sprayer project-using cameras to detect weeds and spray in real time
2. Improving grass weed control by angeling nozzles
3. Air blast spraying to improve spray deposition.
4. laser weed control- applying a laser beam (size and intensity) onto small weeds (it works but not real practical)
5. Single Drop Applicator - applying a single drop to target the individual weed. Lots of benefits but for high value crops
6. Rainfall simulator to predict rainfastness of various active ingredients
7. Climate change rooms - look at the effect of weather (temp, Humidity) on herbicide efficacy.
8. Auto water table - used to influence soil water on herbicide efficacy.

In Denmark

2010-07-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Arrived into Copenhagen last night,Monday 5th July after staying in Netherlands for the weekend. Went to Unisersity research and into Copenhagen tonight. Will post photos later. Nice place Copenhagen and getting looked after by my new friend Per Gummer Andersen.

Wageningen, Netherlands

2010-07-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Today i spent traveling around Wageningen with Jaco Kole Head of Sprayer Testing for SKL. We visited a spray test facility, The Plant research Institute for drift measurement, efficicay testing, and improved methods of spray application. It is very hot in the Netherlands and everyone is excited about the big win today over Brazil in the World Cup.

Brussels and my mate

2010-07-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Thursday i was in Brussels for 2 visits and then onto Netherlands. I had a 3 hour train ride to Wageningen withh a stop over at Amsterdam airport. Have a look at who i found. My mate Marty.

The Old Spray, The new Research and a good Belgium farmer

2010-07-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sprayers at Delvano date back to 1950's. Look at the horse drawn one and the other one is on an old army moak. Also visited POLVT applied research with trials on Tomatoes, Cabbage, and many other crops. A visit to a good farmer with a biosoil chemical pit for cleaning contaminated waste water. He grew potatoes, wheat, sugar beets, cabbage, celery and was near Kirtrik.

Spray Inspection and equipment

2010-06-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 29th June i visited a spray testing station inspecting sprayers which needs to be done every 3 years. The EU legislation is making it manatory for sprays to be inspected in all member states by 2016. Belgium is a leader and one of the first to implement the scheme. Also visited AAMS which develops and assembles the equipment for testing sprays.

Ghent City, Belgium

2010-06-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

Belgium is a nice small country mixed with small farms, large cities, roads and known for its beer, chocolate, fries and cows(beef). Brussels, Bruge, Antwerp and the medieval city of Ghent are the big places. People are dyamnic with languages and most speak English, French and Dutch. Bike riding is done by all and the layout of the cities make it sensible although cobble paths and tram tracks could make it interesting in the wet.

ILVO Research, Belgium

2010-06-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Monday was spent learning about research at ILVO Merelbeke near Ghent in Belgium. They have a Spray Tech Lab as part of Ag Engineering Division and research and test methods for drift reduction and characterisation of spray quality.

In Belgium 27.6.10

2010-06-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

I traveled from London to Lille (France) on the Euro Star and traveled to Izegam in Belgium with David Nuyttens. We went bike riding around the town and farms and enjoyed a nice Belgium beer at a local pub on the way home. The countryside, people and farms and produce make this small country a special place. The beer is made locally and has 5-8% alcohol.

Good bye London

2010-06-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

My last night in London was at The Farmers Club and brunch with my sister Vanessa.

Last Night in London and UK

2010-06-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday 26th June is my last night in the UK before heading to Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. MY stay in the UK and Ireland has been a fantastic experience. The Nuffield network has helped with accomodation for the 2 and half weeks over here. I am grateful for the food, travel, bed, beer and good company from Kev, Julian, James, Jo, and sister Vanessa.

I have visited spray operators, farms, researchers, nozzle manufactures, Cereals show, spoken with adjuvant formulation chemists, and chemical manufactures and boom spray manufacturers. I have also learnt about the national spray testing scheme and spray operator training.

Onto Europe to do the same and learn about the differences in regulation, testing, culture and people.

PX Farms, Cambridge

2010-06-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

PX Farms is a diverse farming operation using precision agriclture, reducing soil compaction, building soil fertility and health and working with the environment to farm sustainability. Inspirational and passionate about agriculture. Well done James.

Silsoe Nozzle Testing

2010-06-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Chiderley Estate, Cambridge, UK

2010-06-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

This evening i went to a celebration of the 150 year anniversary of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution which was held at a Family Estate, Childerley Hall near Cambridge. The buildings date back to 1600 and the gardens and buildings were incredible. Thanks to James's Mum for all the introductions.

Knights Sprays and CTF farm in the UK

2010-06-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

Today I visited Knights Farm Machinery and saw there factory as well as discussing the National Spray testing Scheme with Duncan. Also visited a farmer doing CTF farming and using direct drill machine.

Family, Farm, Flying

2010-06-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

My weekend was spent with James Peck and Fiona as well as there family Louise and Ed plus cousins. James and i looked at the farm from the ground AND ABOVE.

Friday 18th June Farm/Research

2010-06-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

UK Research and farms

2010-06-18T12:46:00.001-07:00

Friday 18th June i visited robocrop research using vision system guidance as well as 2 farms spraying there T3 application of fungicide on there wheat. The last visit was close to London and the traffic at 5pm was mind blowing. It is truly farming amoungst the population. These farms had sprays of 30m and cropping 2000acres + using local self propelled sprays. Good to get back to a home cooked meal and a glass of wine after a trip that took twice as long as it should.

ProCam Field Day

2010-06-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday 17th June Rob and were invited to Pro Cam agronomy field day. Jo works for Pro Cam and the field day was looking at varieties in oilseed rape, barley and winter and spring wheats and also how to manage weeds as blackgrass is becoming resistant.

KWS also had a breeding site next door where there are nearly 30000 lines in the trial.

Back in England Nozzle factory

2010-06-16T11:23:00.001-07:00

I flew from Dublin to Stansted today and visited a nozzle factory. Staying in Buntingford, Hertz with Jo and Luke.

Spray test with Chemical Kev

2010-06-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

Kev

On Tuesday 15th June i traveled from Kilkenny after staying with my Irish Cousin James to Kevin's farm. We had fun visiting chemical merchants and playing with water sensitive paper on Kev's Twin Air spray. We visited a farm at 9pm and were home by 11.30pm. What a big day!!!! Kev loves work and his air spray??

Kilkenny Castle 14.6.2010

2010-06-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

Factory Tour Kennan and Red Mills

2010-06-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

Monday 14th June the June Global Focus Group was in Ireland the the Irish turned on the machinery and factory of Connolly's Red Mills which produces feed for the livestock sector including horses, birds, pigs, sheep. We visited Keenan factory making mixing wagons and a machinery shop.

Irish Cousins 13.6.2010

2010-06-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Great food and drink at the Blackwater Lodge Hotel. Got to see irish cousins in there home town. Sinnotts of Martin, Leonie,Leo, Jay, Decklan, Jossie, Shiobban and boyfriend and two of Leonie's sisters went for a meal.

12.6.10 Blackwater co. Wexford

2010-06-15T05:00:00.001-07:00

Traveled to Blackwater, Co. Wexford to see the Cash family who visited us in 2006. a great part of Ireland on the east coast with green fields and making silage and 6 weeks from harvesting winter crops.

Controlling spray drift

2010-06-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

Look how close the house is to the crop. No land is wasted and making it more essential to control spray drift. Kev uses Hardi Air Assit and nothing stops him except rain.

Friday 11th June Tillage

2010-06-15T04:45:00.001-07:00

Kev loves tillage. The soil is inverted by ploughing and then it is rolled and compacted. It is great soil which is well drained and full of colour.

Research Centre Carlow Co. Carlow

2010-06-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon Rob and i heard Dr. Clive James talk on Biotechnology and how it fits into future food and environmental stability.

We toured the research farm and saw trials of grasses, as well as systems trials and varieties. Two works are new and they are TILLAGE and ECO TILLAGE. the later means non inversions of soil. They love tillage in Ireland especially Kev.

11th June Ireland, Kells and Carlow

2010-06-15T04:13:00.000-07:00

Ireland - full of History and great people.

On Friday 11th June i visited the town of Kells Co. Kilkenny to see history, livestock, spring barley and oilseed rape as well as bulb production.

Cereals 9th and 10th June

2010-06-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

Cereals is the main Arable Field Day/show in the UK. Live demonstrations of tillage and spray equipment as well as planted crops around sites. It is a very professional and huge event with great hopitality.

It is a purpose built event in a differnet location each year and features all the main machinery and research organisations thourghout UK, Europe.

Tuesday 8th June Lords Cricket

2010-06-15T03:15:00.001-07:00

The tour of Lords Cricket ground showed us the dressing rooms, the long walk down through the members, the stands, the media centre (iglo) and we learnt about the ashes and cricket history. The original ashes were burnt at "Rupertswood" Sunbury were i went to school. Sir Ruper Clark owned the property then and hosted the tourist.

Monday 7th June 2010

2010-06-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

Made it to London to start my Study tour. My sisiter, Vanessa hosted me around town and we saw. Hyde park, Buckingham palace, Treflar Square, Big Ben, London Eye, Oxford Street and rode on the tube and train. Lots of fun Ness

Last day of farm visits

2010-04-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today Tuesday 6.4.10 is our last day of farm visits. Tomorrow we drive 400km to Montevideo to catch a plane to Santiago, Auckland then to Sydney and arrive 7.30am Friday.
We saw a farming system model and an agricltural research university today which has completed our Global Focus Tour for Autumn 2010. What an amazing learning experience, fun and adventure. Thanks to Row, Graeme, Rob, Ian, Steve, Marty and Alister. See you all soon

Easter Sunday Tourist farm and winery

2010-04-05T19:03:00.001-07:00

Montevideo to Colonial

2010-04-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

On saturday after a quick tour around the city of Montevideo we traveled west to Colonial which was founded in the 1600. It is a historic town with cobble roads and great eating places and small shops. After lunch we visited a dairy farmer who also grows sorghum, soy, maize, wheat, lucernce and ryegrass. Uruguay climate is similar to southern Australia but averages more rainfall throughout the year. Up to 1300mm per year.

Montevideo capital of Uruguay

2010-04-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Montevideo the capital of Uruguay with a population of 1.5mil people which is half of all of Uruguay. We arrived on Good Friday night.

Australian Embassy-Brazil

2010-04-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday night we were hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Brazil (Neil Mules) at his home. It was a relaxing evening with nice food and good company. Thanks to Goran for his help throughout the day.

Brasilia Sheep, beef, soy, corn

2010-04-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

A dynamic farm owned by a lawyer who is developing Brazilian agriculture by importing beef and sheep genetics to improve the productivity of farming in Brazil. He has hosted many foreign guests and we were lucky to spend the afternoon with he and his workers.

Wednesday 31.3.10

2010-03-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

We visited a processing plant which produced these products from tomaotes, corn and other vegetables. It was a great experience to see the production line and process. They produce over 100 lines of products. We then drove 21/2 hours to Brasilia (the capital of Brazil) and arrived after 8pm.

Soy Harvest in Brazil & corn ready

2010-03-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

A farm visit was exciting this morning and learning about the production on a typical mid north Brazil farm. This is summer cropping of soy and maize. On centre pivots with a tomatoe, soy, maize, broad bean and millet crop they can produce 5 crops in 2 years. On rainfed fields they can sometimes produce 2 crops (soy and maize) in 8 months.

Around Goinnia, Brazil 30.3.10

2010-03-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today Tuesday we visited a sugar farm and ethonol factory. Sugar harvest is about to start and it is all still harvested by hand. 14,000 ha from now until Novemeber.
Also went to a chicken farm, mill and processing plant. They kill 200,000 birds a day. The mill recieves close to 1000t of feed (corn, soy, and additives) a day. There are currently 2200 people working throughout the facility.

The bus with no air bags or low beam 29.3.10

2010-03-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

The bus with no suspension. We have travelled 1000 km in 2 day in this bus. Today close to 650km leaving at 7am and arriving in Goinna at 10pm. What a RIDE.

Daterra Coffee from Uberlandia – Patrocinio to Goiânia)

2010-03-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Coffee production is very large in parts of Brazil. We visited Daterra Coffee farm which produces the finest coffee exported to the world. An amazing company model and Gustavo was a fantastic host. From production to processing/packing and marketing to the world we saw it all. Heidi would have enjoyed the taste test.

Drive from Ribeirao Preto to Uberlandia

2010-03-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday 28th. A 300km drive through some amazing country side. After leaving R. Preto and driving thorough sugar cane country then cattle grazing then mixed maize, soy, sugar all growing and at mixed stages. These areas where large scale and amoungst the rolling hills. We will continue to travel north seeing coffee, chicken, sugar, soy. 600 km of driving on Monday.

Fly to Ribeiroa Preto

2010-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today we flew 1 hour north of Sao Paulo to Ribeiro Preto to begin a week of driving though rich farm land. Looking forward to seeing the rich and productive country of Brazil.

Art, Fruit, steaks and big business

2010-03-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

Sao Paulo city was founded in 1550's but has really established itself as a big city since the 1930's. It is a rich town with a diverse population of indian's, japanese, spanish, italian's and many more back grounds.

Sao Paulo, Brazil 26th March 2010

2010-03-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

The city of Sao Paulo with 20 million people

Thursday 25th March

2010-03-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Fly overnight from Mexico City to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Arrived at mid day to a hot and humid climate 31 degrees C. By late afternoon there was a huge thunderstorm. The same happened on Friday afternoon.

Teotihuacan Pyramids Mixico City

2010-03-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

A visit back in time to pyramids outside mexico city. A 2 km walk of death between the pyramid of sun and moon.

Country village, Sonoa 23.3.10

2010-03-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Crop Types in Yaqui Valley, Sonora

2010-03-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Various crops are grown and include carrots, chilli, green tomatoe??, citrus (lime, oranges), Asparigus, cotton, safflower. Wheat harvest begins in April/May

Long Term Sustainable trials CIMMYT

2010-03-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

CIMMYT agronomy trials looking cropping system. Bed type, stubble retention, rotation.

CIMMYT 22.3.10

2010-03-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

Wheat varieties grown on raised beds. These are a history of varities grown over the last 60 years. This place is amazing and hosts many research people.

City of Obergon, Sonora

2010-03-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

View from Motel in Obregon which is in the north of Mexico a two hour flight north of Mexico city. We arrived late Sunday night. This area is considered a good agricultural area. Many crops are grown under irrigation. CIMMYT is a wheat breeding research station not far from the town.

San Fransisco City

2010-03-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

San Fransisco 20.3.10

2010-03-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

Friday 19th March Sacramento

2010-03-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

No photos on Friday. Visited California University UC Davies Campus followed by sheep abbatoir and then Californian Farm Bureau who represent farmers. We stayed the night in Sacramento and drove to San Fransisco Saturday morning.

Made it to Sacramento 18.3.10

2010-03-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening and we have made it to Sacramento. Tonight we had Chinese for dinner. Since arriving in California we have eaten Japenese, Mexican, Seafood and today had a sandwich made from beef with a cut called tri top which is from the rump and marinated in a special brine and then smoked (Very Californian).

Dairy California style

2010-03-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

A 6000 head dairy farm was very impressive today. A 2500 acres farm with a 57 hd aside milking stall works 24 hours to milk cows twice a day.
Silage production began yesterday cutting Lucernce then wheat followed by maize later in the year.

Salanis Water Treatment 18.3.10

2010-03-18T21:43:00.001-07:00

Wednesday morning in Monterey was foggy until 10am. We visited a water treatment plant which treats water to be applied to 12000 acres of farm land used to produce edible leaf crops. It collects raw sewage from a population of 250,000 people.

Fresno to Monterey

2010-03-17T23:26:00.001-07:00

Travelled over the mountain to the port side town of Monterey. We are now in the Salinas Valley where more veggies are grown.