In only 21 days I am off again back to Australia to begin digging deep and exploring my study topic which as a reminder is traceability in beef and how we can meet consumer demands for information.  After two or three weeks in Australia I am headed to China for another few weeks, at first I thought five weeks was too long and now as I am making plans it seems oh so short.  I’ve been following along as many of my Nuffield 2014 colleagues have been tweeting and posting on facebook about their travels since the CSC and it is making me want to take off again even more.  So much to do at home and at work however before leaving again.  

A little late but as promised some Sydney/Canberra photos from the CSC earlier this month. 

Chicago has cows; Toronto has moose; Sydney has rhinos.

The most iconic photo spot in Sydney, I believe.  Where joggers stared at us in our business suits eating lunch.

Field trip to the Fish Market was very interesting, everything sold in a dutch auction.

Taken outside Canberra but could just as easily been in Southern Alberta.  Had to get some Angus cattle in.

Final dinner of the event was at the Australian War Memorial  Great night and lots of history on display there. 

Kemptville Campus set to close by the University of Guelph

Shocking news surfaced this week as the University of Guelph announced that they will close their satellite campuses in Kemptville and Alfred.  Both campuses are losing vast amounts of money and are seeing declining enrolment according to the press release from the U of G.  They are also the only agricultural colleges east of Guelph and serve mainly central and eastern Ontario as well as Quebec.  However have been known to attract students from across Canada.  

I have to wonder if Guelph has just forgotten about them up until now and not given them a fair chance.  Agriculture enrolment is up in western Canada according to an article in The Western Producer, October 25, 2013.  Olds College in Alberta is full with a waiting list according to the same article.  The schools that are cited in this article have created new programs, attracted private donors, and have worked with industry to train for skills in demand.  Why hasn’t Guelph done the same thing at their satellite schools?  I can not imagine a situation where this is western Canadian specific growth.  Would it be all that difficult to offer degree programs at Kemptville along with their diploma offerings; the infrastructure is there at the main campus and they tried it with a Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management - Equine Development to some success from the sounds of it.  John Deere has a certified technician training program in conjunction with Olds as does Case New Holland; certainly these companies need technicians trained in Eastern Canada as well.  Kemptville already has the heavy equipment training facilities on site and as an outsider it seems simple.

I was disappointed to find no social media presence for the Kemptville Campus, this is 2014 after all.  OAC (Ontario Agricultural College) is on Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, RSS and Flickr but nothing for Kemptville specifically.  Even Campus d’Alfred has a Facebook and Youtube presence.  Something is not adding up here, I would have thought that the best way to attract students would be to engage them on social media sites.  

In a time where we need further infrastructure in agriculture locally, nationally and in global context and in a time when there are three jobs waiting for every Agriculture grad in Ontario it doesn’t make sense to me why these schools have to close.  Is this a problem that could be solved with something as simple as marketing and adapting to agriculture in the 21st century? Probably not but shouldn’t they have tried a different approach before just pulling the plug. There are many memories there for all alumni and local residents and as a Kemptville grad (Aggie 2002) myself, I couldn’t imagine how my life would have turned out if KC wasn’t part of it.  The outrage felt across Twitter and Facebook this week from concerned alumni is more than sentimental memories, the agriculture industry is strong in Ontario and across Canada and we as an industry are working hard to encourage more youth to become or stay involved in agriculture; closing one of our dedicated agriculture institutes makes this an even harder battle to fight.  Once we lose a 97 year old institution, it will never be replaced. For further information please refer to these links.  

Links:

University of Guelph press release:  http://www.uoguelph.ca/news/2014/03/u_of_g_consolidating_regional_campus_program.html

From the President of the U of G:   http://www.uoguelph.ca/president/blog/2014/03/facts_not_conjecture_needed_in.php

“Ag Sector interest sends university enrolment up” The Western Producer:  http://www.producer.com/2013/10/ag-sector-interest-sends-university-enrolment-up/

OAC https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/

Kemptville Campus http://www.kemptvillec.uoguelph.ca/

Campus d’Alfred https://www.uoguelph.ca/alfred/

Petition to Save Eastern Ontario Agricultural Campuses http://www.steveclarkmpp.com/467/

North Grenville Community  http://www.northgrenville.ca

We arrived in Canberra last night for the second leg of our Contemporary Scholar’s Conference.  It has been a whirlwind few days in Australia so far and we are only have way through. There are approximately 65 Scholars in New South Wales sharing experiences, swapping stories and getting to know each other.  

The discussion and conversations that have emerged from the sessions we have attended and participated in have could have significant impact on how agriculture is perceived in the future.  Much of the discussion has been around attracting new people to agriculture and keeping the good people that are already involved.  One solution that keeps bubbling to the surface is how we need to rebrand the industry and remove the old stigma.  People are attracted to people who look like them and act like them, so why wouldn’t we as an industry showcase our younger people doing great things?  Why can’t we illustrate how technological advanced the industry is?  

Not farmers  - food producers

We are food producers, whether we are Canadian, Australian or European or anywhere else in the world.  Our profession by nature demands respect from all consumers as as a collective we need to work together to ensure we keep it.   

Above is what resulted when I tried to blog this past week at the CSC, the start of three separate entries which have hardly even been flushed out let alone finished.  .  I currently sit in the airport in Canberra awaiting my flight home this morning and expect that blogging in an airport departure lounge will become a regular occurrence over the next few years.  The airport departure gates have become a place for me to reflect on my travel as I prepare to return back to my “normal” life.  Today, in this lounge there is so much to think about and digest from the past week.  Conversations began yesterday around the idea that we likely won’t comprehend exactly how much we have learnt at CSC 2014 until far into the future.  Hopefully I can read the pages and pages of notes that I took to aid in the process of retaining the ocean of information presented and more importantly discussed.  

We have danced and sang; laughed and cried; discussed and contemplated.  All and all, it has been an incredible experience.  More information to follow over the next few days with photos.  

Contemporary Scholars Conference

I have been intending to write all week while I have been here in Australia to keep this updated, but I have quickly learned that is easier said than done.  The event has been fantastic so far, with lots of great discussion and ideas being tossed around.  I have actually started now three posts and they sit as ideas started waiting patiently to be finished.  

The event has been fantastic so far, with lots ofreat discussion and ideas being tossed around.

Instead, I will share some photos from our dinner last night at the Australian Parliament building in Canberra.  We were hosted by two sitting members of parliament who are past Nuffield Scholars.  The event was something that I will remember for a long time.  

(R to L Steven Wolfgram, Darryl Chubb, Kelvin Meadows, Me)

The Canadian beef industry is at a crossroads; we know we have the capability in Canada to produce the highest quality of beef products due to our abundance of open land, clean water and fresh air but our national cow herd continues to decline.  For years, profit margins have been tight and producers have been getting older, now prices are climbing and an enthusiastic, passionate, younger generation is taking the lead in the industry.  But will the cow numbers continue to decrease or will we begin to rebuild and will this turn around happen in time?  

Canada is a beef exporting nation.  50% of our cattle and beef production is exported according to Canada Beef Inc.   While historically our main trading partner has been the United States, and will hopefully remain so, things are changing and there are vast opportunities available in other regions of the world.  Our current government has encouraged free trade and continues to take down trade barriers with other nations and regions.  Still the number one factor in meeting the demand of feeding the world is that we must exceed the customer's needs, whether they are in downtown Toronto or rural China.  Consumers are smart and savvy regardless of where they live, and they want to know more information about where and how their food is produced.  China has an enormous expanding middle class who are looking for high end food products but who also want authentic stories and facts to back them up (Andrew Wu from ALMA’s "A Discussion with Andrew Wu", August 2012, Calgary).  In Canada we have a fantastic story to tell, about how we produce the highest quality and safest beef in the world.  

Is it enough?  Can we give consumers the information they want in a format they can use?  Are we meeting our customer's expectations with our current systems?  Our cattle traceability system is world renowned but there is always room to improve.  Other countries are doing different things and what can we learn from them, we can use to strengthen our industry.  We should not only learn from other beef producing countries but share our experiences and ways of doing things so that we can teach.  As we continue to push into Asian markets, can we meet expectations there?  Consumers will have different needs and standards than our Canadian consumers have.  The Canadian beef industry needs to think globally.  The world seems smaller today than ever before and by working together we can continue to feed the world in a safe, sustainable manner.  This is what I hope to discover as a Nuffield Scholar.  

Nuffield Canada is an agricultural leadership development program that allows professionals to expand their network worldwide and explore a topic of their choice.  It encourages the sharing of ideas and lifelong learning, as well as the opportunity to travel.  A scholarship is available to anyone between the age of 25- 45 involved in agriculture in any capacity of primary production, industry or governance. It exists in 8 countries including Canada and currently 3 Canadian Scholarships are awarded annually. I have the honour of being one of the 2014 Scholars and will be talking about my travels and findings at every opportunity that I can.  Feel free to contact me to learn more or to give your opinion on traceability in Canada.

Originally published in "Aberdeen Angus World" Winter 2013 edition and parts were used in my Nuffield Application.

I started this blog this summer so friends and family could keep track of what was happening while I was travelling in Ireland this summer.  Now it is time to evolve and help those who are interested keep track while I embark on my next adventure.  A few months ago I was named a 2014 Nuffield Canada Scholar. 

Nuffield Canada is an agricultural leadership development program which allows those involved in agriculture an opportunity to research a topic of their choice by travelling the world.  Nuffield’s international network includes over 1500 leaders from Canada, Great Britain, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe and has strong linkages in many other countries.  In the past few years, Canada has been awarding three scholarships annually and since the mid 1970's Canadian Nuffield scholars have been fully supported by alumni donations.  More information on Nuffield Canada can be found at http:/nuffield.ca

I have two years and $15 000 to conduct research and report back to the Nuffield Canada community.  My first trip will be to the Contemporary Scholar's Conference in March in Sydney and Canberra, Australia.  This conference brings together the group of current scholars from all participating countries.  From there my plans are not concrete yet, I have had a shift in thinking this week after attending an orientation session and AGM meetings this week in Lethbridge.  But I will keep you posted. 

After spending a few days with this wonderful group of people I am inspired, excited and honoured to be part of this group.  If you want to learn more about anything that I talk about, please contact me.  Cheers.

5 weeks away

Over 400 km walked

2/3 of the Ulster Way hiked

2 nights camping

18 different towns stayed in

3 1/2 weeks on the trail

5 days in the Republic of Ireland

Numerous wonderful people met

A handful of minor injuries

2 heavily used bus passes

1200 photos

A million memories

It’s so hard to return to normal life after an experience like this.  Between the jet lag and the catching up at work this past week seemed to drag on and on.  But as the jet lag wears off and things get back to normal I can’t help but remember this quote “Don’t cry because it’s over.  Smile because it happened” by Dr Seuss.