AALP's Blog (118)

Our morning began with a great breakfast at the hotel followed by a speaker from ASOEX which is the Chilean Association of Fruit Exports. As a not for profit organization, they facilitate the export process, stimulate research and innovation and encourage industry training by defending the sectors interests, managing agreements, administration of inspection…

Today we began our adventure with a visit to a Chilean dairy farm in the Casa Blanca Valley. The farm is home to a 1200 head milking cow herd and the farmer is working to grow the herd to 1800. The farm owner is a retired professor of plant physiology and now manages about 200 employees. 40 of these employees work full-time at the dairy, milking 23 hours…

AALP Class 15 and our friends from the Atlantic Agricultural Leadership Program secured the farms at home, wrapped up last minute projects, said goodbye to loved ones and battled vicious winter weather to descend on Terminal 1, excited - and maybe a little nervous - to kick off our grand adventure.

While some caught fitful sleep and others binge…

Class 15 departs on February 15, 2015 for their International Study Tour themed “Political, Economic and Cultural Comparisons”. The class will be touring Chile and Argentina and will return on March 1, 2015.

Here are some of their destinations:

• Chile
  • Excursion to vegetable and dairy farms Valparaiso and Pacific Coast
  • Tour of the city of Santiago and visit to the Canadian Embassy
  • Presentations from agricultural organizations including Fundacion…

BrIght-eyed and bushy-tailed, Class 15 was up early and headed to Native Offerings Farms (NOF) in Little Valley, New York, an hour and a half outside of Painted Post. A few great "off the cuff" moments and a beautiful serenade by Linda made the time pass quickly.

At NOF, Deb and Stu Ritchie run a 180-acre farm and produce a variety of certified naturally-grown…

On day seven of our North American Study Tour, we visited Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to see the site of one of North America's greatest battles.It was overwhelming to see the exhibit at the Gettysburg National Military Park. The Cyclorama, which was painted in the late 1800's by Paul Philippoteaux brought the experience to life. Then, a walk through the onsite museum…

Friday began with a meeting with Syngenta in the heart of Washington D.C. The presentation followed a recurring theme: Feeding A Growing Global Population. Syngenta's Good Growth Plan contains six areas of focus:

1. Make crops more efficient
2. Rescue more farmland
3. Help biodiversity flourish
4. Empower smallholders
5. Help people stay…

Wow! What a busy, exciting and informative day!



We arrived at the Canadian Embassy and are proud to announce we all cleared the security check. We listened to a variety of speakers and learned about the value and importance of the trade relationship Canada has with the United States. A couple of interesting facts: 

1) US and Canada…

The FFA Creed - as applicable now as when it was written in 1930

After staying with some terrific families in their homes, AALP Class 15 traveled to the National FFA Center in Indianapolis. For some of us, this was the first introduction to the FFA while others had a more in depth understanding of who they are. We learned that FFA goes through the…

AALP Class 15 was off to an early start as we continue our North American Study Tour adventure.  Fun fact: interstates that are odd numbered run north-south. We travelled south on I75 down through Ohio to Indianapolis, Indiana.  

We used our time on the bus effectively.  From practicing "off the cuff" to sponsor spotlights, we kept ourselves busy. We were enlightened with information on an AALP ally AdFarm as we rolled past fields of ripening wheat and tassling…

Today was another great day on #NAST2014.

We started our day at Detroit’s Eastern market, and went on a tour of the local area around the farmer’s market. We heard about and saw some of the local restoration going on in the form of a greenway and bike path. The people in this community are working tirelessly to improve their city by improving everything from access to fresh, healthy food, to green spaces where the community can come together for shopping, eating and…

On Sunday, July 6 Class 15 of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program began its North America Study Tour #NAST2014. 

The first stop on the tour was Detroit and the Sunday Street Market of the Eastern Market. The Sunday Street Market features local items such as home goods, art, jewelry, clothing, Michigan-made products, antiques…

The 29 participants in AALP Class 15 leave on Sunday, July 6 for their North American Study Tour.

During the eight-day tour, they'll learn from a wide range of speakers and tours, from wineries to organic farms and from the Canadian embassy to Gettysburg National Military Park.

Blogs will be posted here daily - follow along on this great journey!

The flight from Delhi to Brussels was uneventful. One thing we did notice was the high security leaving India. Just to get on the plane we had our passports and/or our boarding passes checked up to six times. Others had their bags checked through up to two times.

The layover in Brussels was just long enough to grab a sandwich and a quick view of the fabulous Belgian…

Another bright,sunny day today in Delhi. AALP Class 14 has really enjoyed their trip to India but many are looking forward to heading back home to family & friends. A trip to the food market is first order of the day. First impression was primitive & more garbage laying around. Hira Singh Wholesale Vegetable Market is one of four fruit & vegetable markets in…

Good morning from Delhi where the sun is shining bright with the expected high of twenty nine degrees. We have started our journey towards Agra where the famous Taj Mahal resides. Although our travels have been mainly on a coach bus, did you know that India has the third largest railway system in the world.  The highway to Agra was 6 lanes with no traffic and was just opened…

AALP class 14 started off Day Eleven of our study tour later than usual with an 8:15 a.m. wake-up call. While many back home battle a winter wonderland the class enjoyed a sunny 28 degree Delhi winter.

We headed off to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) which is situated inside the city limits of Delhi. This Institute was started in 1905 in Bihar with a…

Expect the unexpected, organized chaos, frightening, bumpy, contrast and adventure. These are some of the ways that the AALP Class 14 members described their varied experiences today. We started the day by visiting the head office of Digital Green http://www.digitalgreen.org/…

Today the AALP Class 14 members stepped outside their comfort zone and visited the Bawana colony (slum) in north west Delhi. We started the day by meeting with the Delhi division of Habitat for Humanity and learned that 40% of Delhi residents live at, or below, the poverty level. Habitat for Humanity has been present in India for the last 30 years and has helped 48,000…

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…