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.  

We are finished two of our three day bus tour now and I have confirmed that I am not a bus tour person.  That being said I have had a lot of fun and the other people on the tour have been great to get to know.  Yesterday we headed west from Dublin and worked our way through the countryside.  We spent the night in Galway with some Galway Hookers (which is the name of the local micro brewed beer, get your mind out of the gutter).

Today we drove down the coast and saw the Cliffs of Moher, a very famous natural wonder.  The clouds rolled in off the Atlantic just after we arrived so we missed the full effect but what we saw was incredible.  Of course as we pulled away the sun came out.  Tonight we are in a little town whose name I can't recall, a downside of the bus.  But it is beautiful.

Tomorrow we head to Cork and Blarney Castle, then back to Dublin for the night.  Thursday we head back to Belfast and are meeting some new friends for dinner.  It has been a great trip.

A tale of two cities

Over this weekend we have spent time in the largest city in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  Belfast appeared on the surface to be dull, an industrial working class city that tourists over look because of a troubled past and few shiny attractions hand fed to them on a silver platter.  Dublin on the other hand is vibrant, colourful and full of history, named the UNESCO City of Literature, we both anxiously awaited our time in Dublin.

Belfast had the Titanic Experience which opened last year and was put together very well and after touring thatI spent most of my day just wandering the streets.  That evening we had a steak dinner at McHugh's Bar, in one of the oldest buildings in Belfast, served "on the rocks" where we cooked our own steaks on hot volcanic rocks at the table.  That evening we stopped at The Crown Bar to get out of the rain and to enjoy a few pints at the oldest bar in Belfast, this turned out to be a very fun evening and we met some very lovely people.

Dublin is home to the Guinness Factory as well as the Jameson Irish Whiskey Distillery.  Our evening finished with a literary pub crawl.  Sunday we took the time to enjoy other parts of the city which are less dependent on alcohol and included The Book of Kells at Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, a walk in the footsteps of some of the best writers in the world and Temple Bar.

At first I didn't like Belfast but once I toured Dublin I can only describe it like this; Dublin is the cute, baby faced little brother, who knows he is cute and milks it for all it is worth.  Naturally he gets the greater amount of attention.  Belfast is the dark, grittier older brother who the family ignores.  Misunderstood and first but hard working, steadfast and incredibly interesting once you get to know him.  And I've always been a fan of the black sheep.

You know you're an Ulster Way hiker when....

24 km is a rest day
It is easier and shorter to list what doesn't hurt
You know all the bus schedules in NI
You can spot a stile from 1/2 a mile away
You pass along beside a fence or gate and eye how you would climb it with a pack
You clothes are packed in groups of wearable and disgusting
You're in bed by 8 pm every night and the nights you go out for dinner one beer makes you giddy.
You lose weight eating fried and battered food at every meal
Half way through you have a list of gear being tossed before heading home
You can read a map that doesn't list street names
In 2 weeks you've talked to more sheep than people
The only towns in NI you can name are places with accommodations along route
You're in bed asleep before the rest of the b and b guests even arrive
You only turn down rides offered by passing motorist so you can get your mile count in for the day or when you are in Murder Hole.
Pharmacy workers are very concerned by the amount of pain treatment meds you purchase.
You are following a trail with more livestock hoof prints than foot prints.
You have more water in your boots than in your camelback.
In the beginning you have the taxi driver drop you 1/2 mile from your start point so you don't miss it, by the end when the driver offers to drive you the 3 miles up the hill from where you wanted to start, and you take it.
You wonder daily why it is you haven't met any other people the whole trip who are also hiking the whole route.

My favourite section

Our accommodations in Belcoo

Yesterday was and I am sure will remain my favourite section of the trail.  We traveled from Florencecourt (near Enniskillen) to Belcoo.  The trail included the Cuilcagh Way, it started at the Florencecourt House where we were able to stay just down the road.  The Victorian style manor house, I believe was the recent site of the G8 meetings which Northern Ireland hosted.  The trail weaved around the grounds then went cross country through farm land.  The trail was well marked even if the directions said things like "follow a farm track" which I would interpret as a lane or vehicle track but turned out to be what we would call a cowpath.  Half way through the day we arrived at Marble Arch Caves Geopark, and took the time for a tour down into the caves.  From here our trail took us into the town of Belcoo our final destination for the day from the Republic.  In all it was about an 18 km section which saw us in and out of the Republic.

The next section was supposed to have us walk into Belleek, where I was really looking forward to going but it is not going to work out.  The 42 km section is pretty remote and there is only one place to stay on route and it would mean a 30 km day or so with our packs, and no way to get out of Belleek until Saturday so we are day hiking again and Belleek remains the hardest town in Northern Ireland to get in to or out of.  Only two more days of hiking then we are throwing in the towel and becoming regular tourists for a week.

The trail past Marble Arch Caves

The road into Belcoo looking back into the Republic