Thursday, 21st March 2013.

CIMMYT Research Station - International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre

Spent the day at this world leading research station which was the home of Dr Norman Borlaug, the father of the " Green Revolution ". Wheat breeding and selection carried out here has contributed to many varieties that are currently being used around the globe.

Wednesday, 20th March 2013.

Long day travelling from Washington D.C. to Obregon in North West Mexico via Mexico City. Mexico City is huge with close to 30 million living there. Everyone is enjoying the warmer climate.

Tuesday, 19th March, 2013.

Another day in Washington all suited up. More meetings and briefings on US Agriculture and the economy. The highlight of the day was our meeting with former congressman Charlie Stenholm who is now a lobbyist for the cotton, technology and oil/gas industries. Charlie shared some of his life experiences and his views about the US economy and how he would solve some of the problems.

Monday,18th March,2013.

Washington D.C.

Today was spent in a suit and tie, attending meetings and briefings in the US Capitol about US Agriculture and the Farm Bill. Hope Pjesky, our host in Washington D.C., provided us with an overview of the US Farm Bill and the US political system as well as leading us around the subway and streets to various meeting locations.

In the evening we were hosted by the Australian Embassy along with members of the Pennsylvania Rural-Urban Leadership Program for a briefing, some wine tasting and a chance to mingle.

It was definitely a birthday out of the ordinary.

Sunday, 17th March, 2013.

Travelled from Toronto, Canada to Washingon D.C. ( early start and a long day ). We did the D.C. lights tour of the various monuments, Capitol Hill and the White House and were able to get some good photos with them all lit up at night. Also had our first experience on the subway - quick and easy way to get around but had to be careful the doors didn't shut on you!

Nuffield Contemporary Scholars Conference, 9th - 17th March, 2013.

The 2013 Nuffield Contemporary Scholars Conference was held in Guelph and Niagara, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 60 scholars attended from Canada, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, along with some Brazilian and United States delegates.

Introductions and team building events included attending an ice hockey match, learning to curl and a scavenger hunt around the University of Guelph.

The conference consisted of a range of speakers on the Canadian and Ontario Agriculture and Food sectors, Ontario's Bioproducts industry and training in the use of social media. Leading farms and businesses in the area were visited and there was a lot of discussion and networking between scholars on study topics and the various farming operations everyone was involved in.

For some of the Aussie scholars it was the first time they had seen snow and for some the coldest weather they had ever experienced.

Niagara Falls was an impressive sight from our hotel but even more so from the Skylon Tower where the final conference dinner was held.

Friday, 8th March 2013.

We visited the dairy farm of Ross and Colin Crabb. Black Creek Farms has an annual rainfall of 1250 mm however the current drought is putting pressure on pasture and silage supplies. 640 Kiwi cross cows are milked on 215 ha producing 380 kg of milk solids per cow. Pasture and maize silage are grown on farm and fed to the cows on a feed pad prior to milking with small amounts of palm kernel provided to the cows in the bail. A very tidy 52 bail rotary is used for milking and we were shown an impressive maize crop which was a month from harvest.

The afternoon was spent in Auckland with a quick look around the harbour and then off to the airport for our flight to Canada.

Wednesday, 6th March 2013.

Travelled to Taupo today and met with MaorI business leaders. In New Zealand the Maori control 14.5 million hectares, with approximately 31 million sheep, 3.8 million beef cattle, 6.1 million dairy cows and 1 million deer. New investments into geo-thermal electricity generation and milk processing are also occurring.
Also visited Ngapouri Research Station where research into lamb prematurity and foetal numbers is conducted and has relevance and application to human paediatrics.

Thursday, 7th March 2013.

The focus for the day was kiwi fruit and we attended meetings and visits in the Waikato region.

Zespri are New Zealand's single desk kiwi fruit marketer and controls the majority of the kiwi fruit exports. Growers are paid on taste parameters and the fruit is being marketed as a " super fruit" with its health benefits including high vitamin C levels and aiding in digestion.
The industry currently has a disease issue with PSA ( a bacterial disease ) causing vine deaths.

Visited Aongatete Kiwifruit pack house and saw the advanced technology being used to sort and pack the fruit for export. We were hosted for lunch by Agfirst at Katikati. This company carries out the Kiwifruit industry quality testing using dry matter and brix readings.

We finished off the day ( after a few miles travelling ) with a meeting with John Wilson the chairman of Fonterra. Fonterra is the $20 billion dairy co-op, processing milk into powder and exporting worldwide.

Tuesday, 5th March 2013.

Travelled to Fielding today to meet with Andrew Watters, scholar and director of MyFarm Limited, a dairy farm syndication and management business. Discussed corporate and family farm ownership and Andrew explained the MyFarm business model.

The afternoon was spent at a dairy and Kelso composite sheep breeding operation where OnePlan, the local environmental management plan was discussed. This plan will have an impact on the management of farms in the local area especially with regard to nutrient runoff.

Monday, 4th March 2013.

Back in Wellington today for briefings on trade and agricultural subsidies. Also had an interesting discussion about religion and culture which gave us an awareness of the different things we might encounter on our travels.

The afternoon saw us doing some team building and personality profiling to help us survive the next 6 weeks.

Sunday, 3rd March 2013.

Farm visits in the Masterton area today, NE of Wellington.

Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre is an education and commercial farm training young people in practical farming skills. We were hosted on one of their beef and sheep properties and experienced the spectacular views they have from the top of their hill country. NZ is currently very dry ( no rain for over a month ) and looks unusually brown.
Later we visited the Kershaw intensive cropping farm where they grow onions and sweetcorn for seed.

Saturday, 2nd March 2013.

Travelling to Wellington N.Z. today for the first of our international visits.

I think the scholars on this Global Focus tour are really starting to get an appreciation of the opportunity we have been offered by Nuffield Australia and our individual sponsors. Thank you to the Sidney Myer Fund for their support of Nuffield Australia and my 2013 Nuffield scholarship.

Tomorrow we have our first farm visits north east of Wellington.

Friday, 1st March 2013

The March 2013 Nuffield Global Focus tour has kicked off in Canberra with briefings and a tour of the nations Capitol city. Our group consists of seven Aussies, a Canadian and a Brit ( with a Kiwi to join us in Wellington tomorrow ). We are all excited and a bit nervous about what is in store for us over the next seven weeks.

View from Australian War Memorial toward Parliament House