All Blog Posts Tagged 'ontag' (20)

Out last day in Texas had the AALP Class visit BNSF Railway headquarters (the air traffic control of the railway) a 23-billion dollar company situated outside of Fort Worth in an impressive, modern facility. We were greeted by James Titsworth, General Director of Business Development. We viewed the impressive state-of-the-art dispatch area, where over 250 people work together 24/7 ensuring safety of the railway system West of…

Sunday, July 15th saw AALP Class 17 visit the Sixth Floor Museum Sixth Floor Museumin Dallas. This is the floor…

Our day began in the historic Stockyards District of Fort Worth, once called "Cowtown". This was once the great livestock exchange of the region, as animals made their way into the area‎ by rail. The economy and infrastructure has changed, but the industry has adapted.

At Superior Livestock Auction, bimonthly…

Day 5 of our tour started with the drive from College Station to the capital city of Austin. We headed to the Capitol, taking in the architecture and city sights. We also learned a few fun facts about the Capitol building, such as it is taller than the US Capitol building!

Our first speaker was Christi Craddick, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.…

Our first visit of the day was to J.D. Hudgins, a family business breeding registered Brahman cattle for sale in ‎38 states and 43 countries, most located around the equator. This breed is very well suited to tropical and subtropical climates, having originated in India. We got to "meet" Manso, the bull bought by Hudgins in…

Houston, we have landed. On day two of the North American study tour AALP class 17 stopped in at NASA Johnson Space Center. We had the chance to see the historic mission control center where they navigated the first man to the moon, in addition to many other missions to space.

The control center, which closed in 1992, still features the speaker where many historic words were said –…

Agriculture has advanced continuously throughout the ages to ensure that people have enough to eat.  In years past the majority of the worlds population were directly involved in agriculture and so they didn't fear these advancements.  That is no longer the case, at least not in the privileged countries of the world.  Here in Canada roughly 98% of the population has nothing to do with the growing of there food, excluding any small garden they may maintain.  So it should not come to any…

The slow pace of winter is starting to give way to a renewed urgency to get things ready for planting season.  The winter has stubbornly refused to let go, but as the sun climbs higher in the sky and the hours of daylight continue to increase, its days are numbered.  That doesn't stop the cold mornings from putting on a show.

These poor ducks couldn't get there feet…

AALP Class 14 was awake not quite as early this morning and was off to the Mumbai airport for a short flight to the nation’s capital Delhi. From the airport we boarded our bus and were off to see the major sights of New & Old Delhi. First up the oldest monument in India, Qutab Minar dating back to 1100 A.D., the largest tower (~73m) was erected by the many suggestive Islam rulers over the centuries from the stones of the Hindu temples they demolished. 

Many were then thankful for…

AALP Class 14 had an early start to our day as we made our way to the city of Pune. Pune is a growing city of over 5 million people. (…

After an early breakfast we left Mumbai for a 3.5 hour drive to tour Syngenta Foundation Villages located at Jawahar in the Thane District. The drive took us up into the arid hills through many small villages. Although the fields were bare now, this district is a traditional rice growing area in the monsoon season from June to September.  In the dry season villagers make…

Rested!  AALP Class 14 finally got to wake up from a full night’s sleep in beds that didn't flutter over land and sea, or wobble down a track.  Feeling refreshed we met with our first guide of the day, a wonderful woman who had worked with Mother Theresa, has a Masters in Social Work and who passionately loves showing visitors around her city of Mumbai. Our tour was a…

Each class of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) includes two study tours as part of the curriculum – one in North America, and one involving international travel. These study tours give participants the opportunity to gain an even broader perspective and understanding of regional/national/ international issues and their…

Farm Safety is no accident.  Long hours and heavy equipment make for the best conditions to have accidents happen, but they don't have to.  This time of the year, well in advance of spring work is the perfect time to plan for the coming year, and SAFETY should be a big part of that plan.  It is very easy to convince yourself "it won't happen to me" and you may even think theres nothing that can be done in advance, but I'll say your wrong if thats your approach to a safe farm.

Had a…

The last half of 2012 was busy for me, even took on custom combining to give me an extra reason to run home fast from the factory.  And although the crops turned out good, the markets are favourable, it was still a tough year.  

My appeal (Detail in a prior Blog) to have my farm land taxed at the farm rate came, and the decision made, NO you don't get the farm tax rate, you get to pay…

This is no record that will make the evening news, or ever the local newspaper, but a first none the less.

My cousin joined me in the field for first ever 10 furrow round.  Up until now this field had never seen more than my 5 furrow plough.  But on…

The wheat is off, the crops are sprayed, the pressing field work is behind me.  There is always more to do, but its no longer time critical.  Sure i can pull some weeds in the field, but it doesn't need to be done today.  The wheat stubble needs to be plowed, but no rush, I would prefer a good rain to sprout the lost wheat before I start anyhow.  Sure the free range chickens and turkeys need constant attention, but that has become no different than doing the laundry, its just part of life.…

My corn is planted and on its way up!  It was none too warm on the weekend while I sat on my open air tractor planting two fields of corn.  The cold rain on Monday gave me a bit to worry about, daytime highs of 13C are not particularly desirable, but the heat has shown up and the corn seed has noticed.  Only5 days in the ground and I have an up shoot. The forecast has some reasonable temperatures called for, so I hope to see it out of the ground by the end of next week.

I have been…

With the summer like temperatures last week, I couldn't keep myself out of the field.  I took advantage of the warm weather to burn down the grass on the banks and burn off some bean straw piles in the field in uncharacteristic comfort - a short sleeve shirt in March.  And although the calendar scared me away from working any ground, that volunteer wheat which I left in the field last fall to prevent the ground from blowing was starting to look a bit big.  So I rushed home from work,…

The day started off with intent to make good use of this summer like weather in winter.  With spring around the corner, I have a great deal of pre-field work field work to do.  There is always a few broken tile that need repair.  I have dug up a few with the old fashioned method - the spade.  But today I hooked up the three point hitch backhoe.  This is a great tool - not too big and heavy and much easier than shovelling by hand.  So I started out by extending a culvert i dug in last year…