PA

 

Photos from Sunday visit to Gettisburg.

 

 

Gettisburg, one of the many canons on display throughout the battlefield

Old fences that are being restores to the old days when the battle happened

Round Hill, where the 3rd day of the battle occurred and the battle finished. Check out the awesome colour of the trees in the background, the vista was fantastic

There are pumpkins EVERYWHERE for halloween next week!! All shapes and sizes

An orchard that we visited.

Monday we packed up and headed to Harrisburg, the capitol of PA, an hour or so drive.

We firstly met with the PA farm bureau board, to talk about the farm bureau at the state level. The main thing that I took away from our meeting was the huge investment this state farmer group are making in educating children on agriculture. They have brought 6 semi-trailers that they have decked out with ag learning centres. They take them round to schools all over the state with teachers to teach all aged children about agriculture. They also run courses for teachers on how to educate children in agriculture! This is something we REALLY need to be doing in Australia.

 

We then toured the state capitol (parliament house) of PA. A very magnificent building!

 

We went to the Dept of Agriculture headquarters, and met with the man in charge, Secretary George Grieg, and a few more of the ag dept crew. We chatted about a few different issues that PA ag is facing!

 

In the afternoon we visited PennAg industries, a group that has farm agribusinesses as members, rather than the farmers. An interesting point for me was that they represented both organic farmer groups, and also conventional GM growers. Thus creating some controversies within.

 

Jean, our bestest host, had to leave us tonight, so we headed to a great bar on the river for a few drinks and dinner to send her off. We were meant to head out to for Monday night football at a local sports bar, but we all piked out and headed to bed early.

 

Tuesday we headed to Millheim, a town about 2 hours drive from Harrisburg, to meet with the PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture. This was a very good meeting for me. Brian talked to us about his thoughts on the way agriculture should be heading, a little bit different than my own but still very interesting and you can learn a lot from these different attitudes. Their group has members that are organic and sustainable, with the word sustainable meaning economic success, healthy for the environment and social responsibility. An interesting term, as I think it is really hard to draw the lines for these parameters.

 

Brian believed that farming should be aiming for maximum diversification and continuos improvement. Something that no-one would disagree with. However, he also thought that farming and farm trade could be taken back to a regional level, and bulk commodity production was something that perhaps was not as necessary as we all think. He did not support GM, and believed that the onus was on the GM grower to make adequate buffer zones to keep the GM out of non GM farms. I suggested that it should be 50-50, and the buffer should be divided between the two farms. He did not agree, as he believed that the GM crop was affecting the non GM grower more than vv, so it was up to GM grower to create the buffer.

Brian was concerned that GM crops were making our agricultural systems too homogenous, and lacking diversity. I am not sure that it is GM itself that is causing this, but rather the need to grow the crops that are giving us the highest margins. Even if GM did not exist, people would still be specialising more and more into the crops that are making the most money, as sometimes we cannot afford the luxury of diversification.

 

We talked about the legal battles in regard to labelling of GM food in California. Should all food with GM be marked as so? And is it up to the food with GM to say this product may contain traces of GM, or is up to the non GM to do the tests and label theirs as GM free. I am guessing that in our local supermarkets, up to 60% of food will already contain GM products.

 

We also talked about a programme called CSA. Where consumers purchase ‘shares’ in farms at the beginning of the season, and throughout the season the consumers are delivered a basket of fruit and vegies on a weekly basis. So the farmer is getting the money in the bank early before the season starts, and able to use it for their variable costs. The consumer takes on a small part of the risk as if the crop fails, they don’t get it in their basket. Most years though the consumer gets double the value of their shares in fruit and vegie, making everyone happy. A great idea for the connection between farm gate and the consumer, but more based on higher income families.

 

We headed to PENNSTATE university next to meet with  rural leadership group. We had some lunch and a short chat with these enthusiastic people, that are trying to foster the development of young ag community levels. We then had a tour of the Ag facilities of the University with 3 young students. We finished with an icecream from their ‘famous’ icecreamery. They use the milk from their cows on their farm to make the icecream, and yes t was delicious!

We wandered campus for a while, then headed home back to Harrisburg. A night in tonight, we found some free dinner at the hotel, so looking forward to an early night!

PA

What a beautiful time of the year to be in the US. The trees are all turning and the countryside is coloured reds, oranges, yellows and green. We have had to perfect days of weather to explore Gettisburg here in Pennslyvania.

 

We hired two cars in Washington and made the 2 hour drive North to Gettisburg, in the US state, Pennsylvania. We met our wonderful host Jean Lonie, and her friend Lela, at the visitor centre around lunchtime. We had met Jean at the CSC in England in February, so already knew we were in for a great trip here! Gettisburg is the town where one of the biggest, most significant battles of the American civil war in 1963 took place. It is a very special for all Americans, and they all know the history of the war very well. We had a look around the museum for the afternoon, and I am happy to be updated on my American history, and NOW Gone with the Wind makes a whole lot more sense. I am going to have to read it again now! The movie Patriot is also based on the same war.

 

So basically, the civil war in America from 1861-1865, was based on the southern states, banning together, rejecting the northern states and the American government (Ab Lincoln), and making their own government before starting war with the North. The main issue they disagreed with was Abraham Lincoln wanting to stop the use of slavery in the expanding Western colonies, but there was also a lot of other issues regarding ag produce and supplies. It sounded like a crazy and sad war, with so many people dying, and farms and buildings destroyed.

 

Today (Sunday), we were taken by Colonel Tom for a tour of the battlefield. They are restoring the area to its original state in the war, however there are monuments everywhere. It is amazing the interest, $ and love that Americans are putting into their history. I am impressed!

 

We visited the Colonels Cattle stud, and had some sandwiches for lunch at his beautiful farm. We then headed to a family farm and fruit and vegie shop. The owner talked to us about their operation, and the growth of the ‘farmers market’ shop. People really love shopping at the farm and being able to talk to the farmer. It is a major growth area! This farm has also taken to educating children on farming.

 

We then visited Russell Redding, a former PA secretary of Agriculture. Rus and his wife welcomed us with drinks, delicious cakes and desserts. We were very spoilt. A highlight for me was that Rus is on the AC21 committeee, formed by the Federal government to discuss biotechnology and co-existance!!!! I have been searching for someone to talk to about this committee and their he was. So I am going to be able to keep in touch and see some of the outcomes of their committee which will be great!!

 

Too many sweets for me, so I have skipped dinner and having an early night. Another busy day tomorrow which is fantastic, we have a really great itinerary for the week ahead that will keep us on our toes, but is exactly what we need!

pictures

Bike gang in front of the Washington tower

Group out the front of Capitol between meetings

Group outside the Australian Emabassy in Washington

 

Bike gang out the front of the memorial to Abraham Lincoln, reflection pool behind, a scene in a few movies! Martin Luther King did his famous dream speech just here!

Linda and I cruising

Cruising past the white house

Washington

Well, after not all that enthused about the Washington leg of our trip, I have actually quite enjoyed. Its a pretty interesting city and well, staying at the Sheraton has definitely helped as well!

 

Hope was our host for the 2 days of meetings whilst we were here. She had us all very organised and lined up some interesting speakers for us. On Wednesday we headed to the Australian Embassy and spoke with both the Australian and NZ agriculture representatives, and also a MLA representative here in Washington as well.

We spent the afternoon talking to firstly the Senate committee staffers, so those people that help the senators with all their research, then secondly the house committee staffer, the people helping the polies in the house. I was able to learn a lot about US politics and I am ashamed that I actually don’t understand politics better. I endeavour to learn more about Aussie politics before the next federal election!!

Anyway – I am going to give a rough summary of what I learnt on the Ag side; (Italics stuff)

 

Agriculture is only a very small part of Australian GDP (3%), but in the US it is much more important. The Farm Bill is a major bill that has to be created and passed every year that outlines all the policies and budgets in the Ag sector for the next 5 years. It is a massive task, and often is not passed in time to meet the 5 year timeline. I think it was due to be passed this year, but that is not going to happen and it especially won’t happen if there is a change in political power after the election coming up in 18 days.

 

It is a bit unusual but 80% of the farm bill, is not actually agricultural spending but rather social security for the poorer people, mainly in the form of ‘food stamps’. So when we hear of the billions of dollars that the US govt spends on Ag, it is actually not that large. It is still a significant amount of money that gets spent on ‘subsidies’ for the American farmers. These subsides have mainly been in the form of direct farm payments, crop insurance, price support systems for sugar and dairy, and disaster assistance programmes. In 2012 the Budget for the Ag farm bill has been severely cut to meet the 4 trillion dollars that has to be cut from the US government spending in the next 10 years, so the direct farm payment system will be removed however the multi peril crop insurance subsidies will remain.

 

The insurance subsidy programme involves the US government paying for 65% of the insurance premiums that farmers should have to pay. And depending on the policy, this would cover any shortfall in yield that the farmer does not reap compared to what they insured for. So this year, farmers affected by the drought will still receive income for the yield that they insured for.

Will we ever get this in Australia? There has been a push by some farmers in Australia for the government to support an insurance programme for farmers like this one. But at the end of the day, the premiums would be extremely high, and the pov from the Chris the Aussie ag rep, was that there are better ways for the Australian government to spend their money.

 

Sometimes it makes you wonder why we are farming in area’s that no-one in their right mind would consider insuring??? As I have travelled over the last 6 weeks, it has really hit home how difficult our farming is and how tight our margins are compared to other parts of the world. We have low and inconsistent rainfall, pretty poor soils, only plant one crop per year and no local domestic demand for the potential to value add to a big consumer market (ie no people). So there is my grumble J but at the end of the day it is our choice, so Im over it J

 

So what do these subsidies mean for world trade? Well, the WTO classifies subsidies as green, amber and red in terms of how trade distorting they are, with green being the least and red the most trade distorting. Direct payments are only green box, as although they affect the price of land, they do not have a huge effect on the type and area of commodity planted and therefore do not affect commodity prices too much. Insurance is classified as amber box as it can make people plant crops in areas where they usually wouldn’t take the risk to plant a crop.

 

We also learnt about the TPP, trans pacific partnership. Which is negotiations taking place between may countries over the pacific ocean including US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei and many more all trying to free up trade and create multi-national trade agreements. These negotiations have been going for many years and due to be concluded 2013/14. I am not sure exactly how much benefit we will see at the WA farm gate?

Also China and Japan are also trying to join the negotiations.

 

On Thursday we met with the American Farm Bureau Federation, equivalent to our NFF. The lobbying group represents agriculture all over America, covering all commodities. They have 6.5 MILLION members, 80-90% of America farmers. Non farmers are also allowed to join. It is organised at alocal county level, and then there is also a state level, then the national level. Membership only costs between $20-$60 per year, but different to our PGA membership at about $1500 a year. The policies come from the farmers at the local level, and work their way through the system to the national level, for them to lobby the government. They do not support any political party as “ its great when your candidate wins, but really shit when they don’t”.

 

We spoke to a director of kraft foods who works in international trade negotiations, a US trade rep in the dept of ag affairs and a US farm policy specialist. And by the end of this my brain was well and truly frazzled and sitting in the office all day was a real struggle. A couple of points, the US subsidy programmes are well below their WTO commitments, and also SPS (sanitary and phyto sanitary) like customs and quarantine measures are becoming one of the major barriers to trade. Eg kiwi apples into Australia – which with our NZ’s in the group we hear plenty about!!!

 

We finished with a chat to a rep from WALMART, telling us about their sustainable food commttments. Basically WALMART is trying to be seen to do the right thing, buy becoming ‘sustainable’. They aim to be supplied by 100% renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that sustain people and the environment. It all sounds a bit waffly, but the highlights we saw, was that rather than getting their product in bulk from large suppliers, they are trying to get their stores to buy from local producers to get a fresher product with less transport. They do a lot of other ‘nice’ things, all looking good but also just marketing at its best. One interesting stat was 1 in 5 of their customers don’t have a bank account, and rely on cash day to day, and the average walmart customer income is 35,000.

 

MLA points

-          50% of Aussie lamb is exported

-          US highest importer, then China, then UK

-          Lamb exports to US have been decreasing because of the US economy

-          Americans are not really that keen on lamb, and unless they get a domestic lamb industry going here, lamb consumption will probably continue to decline

 

So, after all these meetings and listening to talk, we were booked on this bus tour 7.30-10.30pm, to do a tour of Washington. I was complaining my head off, as all I wanted to do was chill out and have a few beers, instead of hanging out with a bunch of oldies on a bus. It turned out to be really good and I had to eat my words J

We checked out Capitol Hill, the white house, monuments for different presidents and wars (so many places that you recognise out of the movies!). I caught up on a bit of American history, and only hope I can remember what I learn! Pooped we made it to bed by midnight.

 

Today has been another day off, so Stu, Ewan, Linda and I hired bikes and rode around the city, seeing a lot of what we had seen last night, but great to see it in the day time. It was great fun to get some fresh air and cruise around on the bike we all really enjoyed. There are SO many museums here, but I was totally not in the mood, so I left the gang at the air and space museum and headed back here to the hotel to catch up on all this sort of stuff.

 

Driving to Pennsylvania tomorrow for the last leg of our trip. COUNTDOWN till hometime, yahoo buckeroo

Oh and Ill add photos later as I have to steal them all from Linda....

Last day France, Pigs and Chooks

This morning we headed to Cristines piggery. Although pork prices have been low for more than the last 10 years, and grain prices relatively costly for their business, Cristine and her husband have been able to set up a very efficient piggery operation.

 

They used to buy their piglets in and fatten them up, but it was bringing in many diseases and leading to a lot of medical costs and mortality. Now that they are breeding their own piglets, the system is working much better. They have already set up for the EU rule change next year, of all sows being run in a free range operation, rather than stalls. This has been a good thing for their business, and has allowed them to run more pigs. They have an automatic feeder, which involves each pig having an electronic ear tag, so when they enter the feeding stall, they are fed exactly the right amount of food, for their current situation. Eg if a sow is very pregnant, the tag will tell that to the feeder and give it more food.

 

They grow all their own maize and wheat, and only have to import canola and barley. They have a very good silo setup, but get a contractor in to mix the pig food. They have also been able to use the manure waste from the piggery, to generate electricity from the methane gas, in a huge tank. They are paid 18cents per unit, then they buy their own electricity in at 7 cents per unit. Got to love EU subsidies!!!!

 

For lunch we visited a restaurant that served Briesse chicken. A special chicken that is produced in the Briesse area, and protected by a geographical indication site (GIC). Which is like the ‘champagne’ thing. You can not produce champagne any where else in the world, and call it champagne unless it is produced in the Champagne area in France. So this chicken can only produced in Briesse. It was .....ok, but not fantastic!

 

So after lunch we got to visit a farm that is producing Briesse chooks. They are all free range and actually do have large paddocks that they all wander around all day in the grass. Then every night they are locked in the sheds for protection, and let out the next morning. The young couple running the chicken business said it was profitable but a lot of hard work to keep up with all the regulations and paperwork that goes with it.

We also visited a shop, where the chicken was being sold. This was a sort of farmer market shop, that had been set up by the town council. 25 farmers had joined the shop, and each sold their own produce in the store. It was run like a co-op, but each farmer also had to work at the store for a day or so a week. The aim is to get the grower talking to the customer, which is a really great idea! Depending on how much they sold, they had to work a certain amount of days in the store.

 

We have had a fantastic trip in France, and I have really, really enjoyed!

Off to Washington tomorrow.

 

Antony, and his Briesse chook.

A giant chook where we had lunch and me being a chook underneat.

Header front that folds in half for roads and gates

Another fantastic day in France. After eating SO much food yesterday (approx 4 x what I should consume I would think), I started the day with a very nice jog. Then we headed out to our hosts farm, Michel Pivard. He is running a dairy farm, as well as a green waste recycling plant, and also has a large solar electricity grid generating power he sends back to the grid.

The green waste recycling is a fantastic idea and a great setup. He is paid to receive all of the local towns green waste, and through mulching and mixing with the slurry waste from his dairy he is able to make great compost he uses on his farm, and sells to some customers. So it is the perfect compliment to the dairy operation, and allows him to get rid of his slurry without too much cost.

He put many solar panels on his roof, and through locking in a 20 yr contract a few years ago, is going to generate good income from the power he will put back in the grid in a few years.

 The dairy operation of I think 150 cows, is very neat! The robotic milker was great to watch. As the cows just wander into the milking pen whenever they feel like they need to be milked, and through electronic rays, the milking suckers (wording?) find the teets, and milk her without any human intervention. We were able to watch close up as the cow came in, had her udder thoroughly washed, then she was milked a released. All by a robot! 

Michel and his wife Dominique served us another delicious lunch, then the crew went off to watch alocal rugby lunch, whilst I went with another scholar from France, for some bush walks in the area. Cristine is a pig farmer from south France, and we went for a few different bush walks through some fantastic forest areas. We also visited a historic site where ice used to be carved from a lake and stored in a huge shed, before being taken by train to Paris, Algeria and other places. This was in the 1850’s before they had a means to make their own ice! Pretty cool!

Now we are back at the hotel and have a lovely quite night ahead of us!

The compost turn over machine

Michel explaining the composting process

Cristina on one of our walking trails. I was very lucky to find my own personal guide!!

Very nice waterfalls, with deep holes where the water has been passing through for years!

The historic shed, where slabs of ice were stored in the 1850's, before being railed out to Cities.

walked around this lake, the trees are all starting to turn yellow/red, adding to the beauty!

Time for some pics

Linda and I at a rug shop in the grand bazaar in Turkey, served tea and didnt even buy a rug, oops!

Shopping in the Grand bazaar

Linda and I in the sofia church/museum, in Turkey, a beautiful place

Underground cisterns, Turkey, amazing place

Anzac Cove, Gallipoli

Turkish Cooking Class

Cooking bench

French village, Perogue, medieval village, a small bakery shop window

A few wines at lunch and I found the dress up box! Jem of Arc

Robotic milker, really really cool!!!

At Michel Pivards Dairy, some French Nuffield Scholars and our crew