I love Australia.

I have seen very little of the country even though this is my third trip but I love the laid back nature of the people, the sunshine and the unique things that are found only here…and lets not forgot the wonderful coffee.  

Australia is:

• the sixth largest country
• the largest island
• the only island that is a continent and the only continent that is a country
• a population of 22.68 million people of which more than 85% live within 50 km of the coast
• home to the largest living thing on earth; the Great Barrier Reef
• it has more things that can kill you than anywhere else
• the driest, flattest, hottest and most climatically aggressive of all inhabited continents

In the few weeks I have been here I have seen the Northern Territory which averages 7 inches of rain per year and now on the Queensland coast which averages 54 inches a year (and as I learned this number varies significantly depending on the number of tropical storms in a year).  There is actually water laying in the ditches; likely a result of Tropical Cyclone Ita that hit the east coast of Australia about a week and a half ago.  The extremes are near impossible to wrap my head around.  The cattle are different here, much more bos indicus based herds.  The grass appears plentiful and the occurrence of crops (sugar cane, macadamia trees and peanuts, I’ve seen along the road) signals that conditions are easier here. Even the trees and plants are different.  I read once that the reason Australia has so many diverse species of plants is because over time the native plants adapted to thrive in exactly the conditions that they were growing in.  For example there are over 700 species of eucalyptus trees and many species also continue to adapt dependant on their specific growing location. 

Tomorrow I am off to tour around Bundaberg, hopefully learn a little about macadamia nut production and of course a trip here isn’t complete without learning about rum the famous Bundaberg Rum so I will have to make the sacrifice and take that in as well.  

A small part of the country indeed.  There are many more places and people I wish I could visit but it will have to wait until the next time as this part of my trip is quickly coming to an end. Just five days to go now and I expect they will fly by.

Northern Territory, Australia

It has begun.  While last week was mostly work focused, I am now entirely on my own, forging my own trail on this Nuffield path.  It is a little overwhelming and a little scary, I will not lie.  Due to the timing of a couple of events that I wanted to hit in Australia and China I have ended up here over two Australia long weekends; Easter and ANZAC Day.  Since I had a four day weekend to kill, I thought I would make a few thousand kilometre detour and head to the Northern Territory to visit Uluru, it is one of those iconic Australia landmarks it seemed only right and it has turned out to be a wonderful detour.  Uluru is a beautiful place and this part of the country is beautiful, the red earth, blue clear sky and green trees make for great scenery.  I have lucked out and been here just on the cusp of the busy season (and a few days ahead of the Royal visit) and it is starting to cool down.  Temperatures in the high twenties are cool enough to get out and do some hiking yet warm enough to feel amazing with that crazy weather still wrecking havoc at home.  

At Uluru after completing the base walk; a 10.5 km trail around the rock.

They warned us that a Nuffield twist has a funny way of turning up when you least expect it and as it turns out, there is a cattle station owned and run by a Nuffield Scholar  on the main road from Alice Springs to Uluru.  I made this discovery just before I left home and was able to arrange a short visit with them on my way.  

The land is harsh, I have been trying for days to come up with a better word but harsh is all I have.  An area that averages just 7 inches of rain per year would be but nature adapts.  It takes a lot of land to raise one cow but it is land that is only good for cattle; defiantly not crops and sheep as I learned will pull the grass out by the roots leading to a dustbowl if allowed.  Proving again that cattle are very efficient utilizing land that isn't good for anything else.  These people were inspiring, they have built their station up to now be a tourist destination (even I first heard of it in the Fodor’s Australia guide) which diversifies their operation and they can still run cows on the property.  In addition to the current accommodations, restaurant, fuel and tours to Mt Connor that they run there they are also embarking on a new venture in paper making, I look forward to seeing how successful they become with this new line and it proves yet again how innovative Nuffielders really are.

On the road again....

I have been back on the road for Nuffield '14 for just over a week now and I am back in Australia.  This past week I have had a series of meetings for work to attend to and not much time for Nuffield.  However, I had the opportunity, as part of those work necessities, to attend the Sydney Royal Easter Show, which I have always wanted to see.  What a fantastic event, nothing at home even compares to it.  It was wonderful to see fall shows being hosted outdoors on green grass, we were excited last year at Agribition that it was only -5 degrees celsius.  My full report is available on the Canadian Angus blog.

I am spending the holiday weekend in the Northern Territory in Alice Springs and Uluru.  As I was leaving Sydney yesterday I finally heard the schedule for the Royal Australia Visit; apparently I am just a week ahead of Will & Kate as they are taking in the Royal Easter show this week and Uluru next week.  I was staying at Glenferrie Lodge (which I highly recommend) on Sydney's North Shore while I was there last weekend and Admiral House (Australia's Governor General's residence) where they are staying while in Sydney was just down the street.  It would have been fun to be there when they were in town but I guess there is always next time.  The Royal visit has stirred up the talks surrounding Australia's status as a Constitutional Monarchy (as is Canada) and it has been very interesting to hear the radio commentary on the issue.  The polls reported on many radio stations are favouring staying as they are.  But it makes we wonder, will Canada will ever become a republic or do we need to?  It seems to me that after all this time, why bother now?

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)