Fiji with Heidi and Isaac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Calgary Stampede

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.