Cambridge

Tuesday started with a visit to the Monsanto office in Cambridge to catch up with Mark Buckingham. Mark was a nuffield in 1996. We had a really good discussion on GM's and the position that Monsanto has taken in Europe! They have more or less given up on developing crops for the European market, because restrictions in place.

I then had a few hours to spare, so caught a bus to the city centre, and enjoyed a wonder around the city. It is another pretty and historical place. I spent a bit of time in a cafe trying to mould my ideas together for my report, and something is slowly starting to take shape!

I visited NIAB in the afternoon, where they do a lot of plant breeding, and also varietal testing for many crops grown in England. They are also starting up a site called Innovationfarm which is a great initiative to demonstrate what they do, and teach business and consumers about plant breeding and also biotechnology!

John and Wendy cooked me another delicous meal of fish pie, and I stayed my last night with them. This morning I have headed North to Loddington in Leicestshire. Alistair Leake showed me around the Allerton Research project, aimed at connecting farming with wildlife conservation. It was great to see the 'other' side of the story in terms of the government payments for environmental protection, and I was really impressed with the farm he has setup and some of the things they are doing to conserve the environment! There are always two sides to every story!

I am now sitting in a little cafe in a town called Uppingham. My feet have not yet defrosted as it is very cold and wet outside. my spinach soup is warming me up, so once the feet are feeling again I will head out to catchup with the England NFU, National Farmers Union. My first night with no accommodation sorted - quite exciting really, best go google it!!