The Netherlands: Final Thoughts

As a kid, I remember being absolutely mesmerized by an airplane flying overhead. I didn’t experience an altitude change of my own until I was in junior high. Flying has since changed to an experience of being awestruck by the world passing slowly below. A little fish in an ever-expanding pond is how I feel after flying more than 12,000 miles in the last 21 days; I imagine my travel companions feel the same.

I am not sure it is even possible to put into words how amazing our two weeks in the Netherlands truly was. We learned about the minute details of developing seeds for consumption and eye-candy, how the Dutch people are breaching the consumer-producer gap and what it means to have governmental policy dictating agricultural practices far more than any of the fellows have ever known.

Dutch culture is all about efficiency, collaboration and the environment. So much of the land they currently farm was under water not long ago. They have adapted to their environment and made farmland pop up from virtually nothing. Dutch farms are dwarfed compared to the typical American farm, we can learn a lot from those in the Netherlands who understand how to use a small amount of land so effectively.

Optimization is absolutely key in all of Dutch agriculture. They optimize the land they have to use, the seeds they put into it and the business running the logistics. We were all impressed by how well adopted agro-tourism was everywhere we visited. Not only did farmers bring consumers to their farms to buy their products they also facilitated tours and learning opportunities as another form of income for the operation. We can definitely take a lot of ideas from our time in Holland and implement them in our own current and future operations.

To say this group meshed well is an understatement. By the end of the trip it legitimately felt like we had become a family. Our in-country guide, Anna, we lovingly called dad and our AFA supervisor, Annie, became our in-country mom. I can imagine at some point, it truly appeared like we were siblings; it definitely felt this way. It was an experience of a lifetime and I am thankful to have spent it with the ones I did. It would not have been possible without the hard work and support of so many people and organizations, and for this we are all thankful.

Lindsay King, Oklahoma State University

Final Day: Where do we go from here?

Written by Luke Drachenberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison

As I slide into my seat for the final and homeward flight of my global experience with AFA, it hits me: I’ve just traveled halfway around the world and back again, lived and learned in a new culture, and formed friendships that will last a lifetime. I can picture the places our group has been, the people we met, and the food that (most of us) tried. I think over our visits, among others, to Thanathon Orchard, Pun Pun Organic Farm, Raming Tea Co., and Ichitan Group PCL that gave us a variety of perspectives on agriculture in Thailand and its importance to the economic and political systems of the country. There is no question that this has been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

On a personal level, I appreciated the fact that this trip pushed me out of my comfort zone. I chose this destination not for its beautiful sights or wonderful food, but rather because I knew the culture I would experience would be radically different than the one I was raised in. Thailand didn’t disappoint; from day one I often felt overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and people we encountered. Everything was different and new. This challenged me in a positive way and made me take a long, hard look at the differences between Thai culture and that of the US. As Henry Rollins once said, a great way to learn about your country is to leave it. After experiencing Thailand, I couldn’t agree more.

Given the above, one question still remains: where do we go from here? The original 40 Chances program and subsequent Global Fellows trip were based on the premise that each of us has 40 years, or 40 chances, to leave a positive impact on the world. In a press release announcing the program, AFA stated the following: “As the agriculture industry is faced with feeding more people with fewer resources, this next generation of agriculture leaders has many challenges and opportunities. The program’s objective is to give this group of student leaders an edge when it comes time to graduate, equipping them to make significant contributions to agriculture and food related issues.” As we approach graduation and transition into our working careers, the step of where we go from here is clear. We now have been equipped with the skills and ideas to make a difference; it is now up to us to use these skills during our 40 “chances” to make the world a better place.

The Netherlands – Last Day and Recap

 

On our last day in Amsterdam, Netherlands we got to visit the Vincent Van Gogh Museum and explore his various paintings throughout his life. We  learned that he got his start at painting by being inspired from impressionist painters and his family had an agriculture background. By examining all of his paintings that were present on our tour, we discovered that Mr. Gogh’s favorite agricultural crop was probably wheat.

To recap everything that we visited and experienced, we toured Koppert Cress and received an interesting presentation from Mr. Rob Baan. We toured the Anne Frank House, had an interesting presentation of the ministry of Economic Affairs at The Hague,  had another very intriguing presentation from a representative at Food Valley, toured Seed Valley, toured Agriport (Barendse), worked on our service project in Food Forest, received a very interesting briefing from Susan Phillips from the U.S. Embassy, toured Artis Zoo, and visited Keukenhof.

We also traveled to Wageningen and listened to Nicolas Appert and Director Jeroen Knol from the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST). We even visited 2 organic farms (i.e. a dairy farm and a care farm). We also got to experience the processing and refining of Soybeans, Canola, and Sunflower oil from Cargill at two of their processing plants in Amsterdam. We even got to experience a music concert from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.

Our key takeaways from our trip were that we need to maintain a Global Market mindset, education and collaboration are essential for the continued advancements in agriculture, and our appreciation for the United States of America.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors, CHS, Monsanto, Bunge, and Cargill for their generous donations and support for our trip to the Netherlands and having us explore agriculture on the global level. We would also like to thank International Institute of Education (IIE) for organizing the logistics of our trip and keeping us safe everyday.

-Nick Neumann, University of Missouri

 

 

 

Adventures in Bolivia – Closing Remarks

We said good bye to Bolivia and Cesar, our Institute of International Education guide, really early in the morning – about 1 a.m.

January 11, brought us back to States. We’re meeting in Washington, D.C., with the two other groups to share our learning from each of our trips.

While everyone was thankful to back on U.S. soil, we were even more excited to meet up with the other AFA Global Fellows!

Hearing more about the experiences in the Netherlands and Thailand enlightened each of us about how diverse global agriculture truly is. Culture, government and financial stability all play an important role in each county’s successes and obstacles. The diversity among us and the generosity each country showed us has truly opened our eyes over the past two weeks.

We were all exposed to different continents and climates, but everyone’s experiences were certainly enriched. While each of our journeys are coming to an end, our life learning isn’t through.

Thanks to the past four years of AFA programming and the awesome opportunity to travel abroad, we have all changed of our perspectives and increased our exposure to international agriculture. We are eternally grateful. The future is unknown as we look at the next 40 years, or 40 chances we each have to make a difference in the lives of others, but the impact, I’m sure, will be beyond compare.

Morgan Beach
University of Missouri

Day 13: Our Last Day In Thailand

Written by Wes Davis, Purdue University

Today was our last day exploring Thailand and it was quite the adventure! Some of our group spent the day visiting the beach while others toured the Thailand Grand Palace and a well-known outdoor shopping area called JJ Market. Being a fair-skinned redhead, I opted to avoid any chance of sunburn and chose the latter.

We hopped in a taxi around 9:30 and went straight to the Palace. The entire site was inundated with visitors from around the world all there to see the famed Palace. As we entered the gates, we saw the immaculate and ornate building enclosed by a ten-foot wall, much of which contained murals depicting the stories of the Thai gods.

After seeing the Palace, we left the walled complex and saw the queen’s Palace while Jessica met up with a Thai foreign exchange student her family had hosted. We finished our tour and Jessica’s friend took us downtown to grab a bite to eat and shop at JJ Market. On the way, we made a pitstop at a Pokemon event and for many of us, it was a flashback to our childhoods!

When we arrived at the market, it was a shock for us all. The entire place was basically a five acre flea market on steroids. We went in and out of the booths seeing low cost shoes, clothing, collectibles, and gifts from around the world. Several of us walked away with great purchases including our in-country advisor, Keith, who walked away with several nice handmade silk floral shirts.

That evening, we walked a few blocks from our hotel to visit a sky restaurant called Rooftop 409. With a beautiful skyline view in the background, we laughed, talked, and shared our thoughts on the trip as a whole. After our delicious meal, we all headed back to the hotel and many of us pulled all-nighters before leaving for the hotel at 4:00am.

After processing all our luggage and documents, we all said goodbye to our IIE country leader, Kit, and headed toward the gate and the 22 hours of travel that laid between us and the US. Many airline meals, countless naps, and two flights later, we are all back in the states tucked in our beds and trying to shake off the jet lag.

We are all happy so many of you followed our adventure in Thailand and hope that you were able to see the impact and value this experience has had for us all. More than anything, we have each been given an opportunity to challenge our perspectives and change our approach to things that are different. Not only has the global fellowship given us incredible memories, but it has given us a new lens through which to view and react to the world. Thank you for following our journey. We can’t wait to see you all back in the states!

Greenhouse Visit

Good day from the Netherlands!

After a high quality hotel breakfast, the fellows ventured north to one of the largest orange pepper growers in all of the Netherlands.  After about an hour long bus ride, we could tell we were likely in the right area, with all of the massive greenhouses dotting the landscape.  We arrived on site nearly half an hour early, so it was a unanimous decision to go ahead and continue our napping session on the bus.  Not long after however, we were greeted by a very brightly dressed Dutch woman with more than enough energy to wake up a bunch of half-asleep college students!

Petra Barendse, one of the owners of Bezoek AgriPort, was kind enough to show us around her business that her and her husband built from the ground up.  Their business is made up of three greenhouses, all 10 hectares in size in which two are used for orange pepper production and the other for some very delicious cherry tomatoes (we know; we tried them).  During our time walking through one of the greenhouses, it was incredible to see how much was being produced.  After all, you can plant a large number of vegetables when you have 25 acres under one climate controlled roof!

During the tour, we were able to take some time to sit down with Petra and have a nice conversation about how her and her husband started the business and how the area where they currently live and do business, became a vegetable production powerhouse.  Prior to all of the greenhouses moving into the area, the land actually all sat empty after farmers in the local area were no longer able to make a living.  Petra, her family and friends, all came out to the area and decided it would be a great place to increase the size of their operations.  Petra’s business along with her friends’ greenhouse production businesses formed what it now known as AgriPort.  From an aerial view, this area is very impressive with 25 acre greenhouses spanning across the area.  All of the businesses belonging to AgriPort come together to discuss marketing strategies, more efficient methods of production and as a result, succeed as a collective unit.

Later on in the afternoon, we were able to take some time to work on the presentation we will be giving to industry leaders in Washington D.C., early next week.  It seems crazy that we are getting down to the final days of our trip here in the Netherlands.  As we expected, it has flown by and there have been countless memories made!

We can’t wait to be back on American soil and share our experiences from the trip of a lifetime!

Day 12: Pulling It All Together

Written by Adam Striegel, Iowa State University

Have you ever had a defining moment of clarity? A moment that for a instant, the world seems to freeze in place as gears inside your head connect the points together in a way they’ve never been connected before.

I had one of those moments while concluding a group presentation of our recommendation reports for improving Thailand’s agricultural systems. Our group at that point had spent about two weeks in-country visiting university and government staff, touring research facilities, as well as large agribusinesses.

The group I was a part of presented on three facets Thailand could improve upon: educational efforts and research, communication, and technology development and infrastructure.

I found the presentations a very useful way to summarize our experience as we soon realized almost every one came to the same conclusions in the recommendation reports. That said, many Global Fellows saw these issues with different “lenses” based off their area of study and life experiences.

This aforementioned moment came in the conclusion of my group’s presentation. We fielded a question from Danielle, a senior at the University of Illinois in Agronomy asking us to clarify how our web-based communication/virtual library website proposition would cater itself to technologically in-adept farmers who may have minimal education.

Chandler, D.J. and I all answered the question, which then led to discussion amongst the other Fellows. I stood at the front of the room and watched as this discussion “pop corned” around the room from Global Fellow to Global Fellow. I watched as each individual’s contribution to the discussion added to the group’s understanding of this issue. Ag Business, Ag finance, Animal Science and Agronomy. The Global Fellows come from a very diverse background, and over these past 4 years have added immense value to our experience in AFA and in college.

I said it then in the conference room, and I will say it again now.

This is AFA. This is what AFA is about.

Bolivia Day 13 – The Natural Beauty of Bolivia

‘Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory – rise and shine!’ A tune that I always remember being sung to me as a child. This morning each of us have really been reminded how blessed and lucky we are to be American citizens. Currently in La Paz, there is an ongoing public transportation strike – primarily bus drivers. Due to this, many of the roads are unavailable and we were forced to take a few alternative routes to Lake Titicaca today. We even ventured through some very rough and/or closed roads and some locals were throwing rocks at vehicles! Never fear Mom and Dad, our staff, tour guides and drivers have done a fabulous job ensuring our safety!

After quite the trip, we arrived at the harbor and boarded the ‘San Francisco’ – a catamaran – and prepared to set sail! We all settled in, and then ventured up to the upper deck to take in the view. After a quick 45 minute trip spent learning about the lake, its ecosystems and the islands, thanks to our wonderful guide named Grace, we had to transfer to a much smaller boat in order to dock at the islands.

On the first island, we learned about the reed grass that natives originally used to make boats; but now its primary purpose is for fire, fuel and animal diets. There we were also able to visit a museum that had many clay artifacts. The adventure continued to a second island where, after a steep climb, we were able to take in the breathtaking view and learn about the existing rock funeral temples that had previously contained mummies!

Next, we made our way back to the San Fransisco, where we were served lunch and sailed back to the harbor. All the while we were snapping pictures of the mountains in the distance and the remarkably clear water.

It was a treacherous and long journey back into the city, but there was much less traffic in the afternoon and this time we knew what we were up against! Grace and our drivers dropped us off in a part of the city with many handcraft stores – so we said our goodbyes and shopped ’til we dropped! Then it was taxis back to our hotel to work on our presentations and find some dinner. Tonight is our last full night of sleep in Bolivia; and before long we will be able to rise and shine in the good old U.S. of A!

See you all soon!

Emma Christensen

South Dakota State University

Seed Valley

Today started really early as it was a busy but very exciting and informational day for us all! We had the opportunity to visit Seed Valley, a business structure designed after Silicon Valley in the United States, as well as round out the day at a concert in Amsterdam.

Just to give a little background on Seed Valley; it is a 21 company cooperative that is working to develop a sustainable, vital, high-quality, and innovative business sector by investing in its image, skilled workers, innovation, and experience sharing. We had the opportunity to visit 4 of the companies that are involved in Seed Valley and their role in the seed industry.

We began our day at Enza Zaden a family owned Dutch vegetable breeding company. They are the #6 breeding company in the world and the fastest growing vegetable seed company. Enzo Zaden is very persistent on being family owned and continuing to be independent from banking organizations now and in the future. We had the opportunity to sit down and discuss agriculture with one member of their board of directors. He discussed how the main focuses of their company is to invest in R & D as well as in their employees. Lastly, Enza really stresses how important the environment is on their agenda and how that they don’t believe that they need GMOs because there are better ways to do it!

The next stop was at Sygenta where we had the opportunity to learn about their seed development processes as well as tour their facilities. They gave us a lot of information about how they plan to streamline their processes to decrease the time it takes to develop more varieties as well as the challenges they may face when looking to expand/acquire new business operations. We had the opportunity to visit one of their seed testing labs as well as a greenhouse where they are growing resistant seeds.

Our third stop of the day was to Incotec an international company that doesn’t breed seeds but rather provide services such as film coating, priming, allocation of actives & additives, etc. We were given a breakdown of all of the different processes that occur to perform their services. They also provided us with a tour of their facilities to better understand how they cater their services to the customer’s demands. Incotec’s biggest business is currently in vegetables but they are looking to grow in their film coating operations in the near future!

Lastly, but definitely not least, we finished off our Seed Valley excursion with Monsanto where we had the opportunity to learn about their vegetable business also! Monsanto was more focused on the entire process than just one specific part. They also provided with us a lot of insight into how the exporting process is, along with all the regulations they needed to follow and what kind of mess you can have it just one little thing isn’t right. We ultimately had a great day at Seed Valley and learned lots and lots about vegetable seed production!

After finishing up at Seed Valley we quickly rushed back to the hotel to grab a quick bite to eat and get even more spiffy to head out for the night at a concert. Definitely not the type of concert you might think, but I think it’s safe to say we all really enjoyed ourselves! The concert we had the opportunity to attend was at Concertgebouw, called a Scandinavian Evening: Mustonen, Grieg, and Nielsen. Concertgebouw is the largest and most visited concert hall in the world and had a very amazing composer and orchestra to perform for us!

Well here’s to another great day in Holland! Hard to believe how fast time has flow in the past two weeks, to think we will all be heading back to D.C. in just a few short days. We are looking forward to tomorrow and getting to spend the day at the world’s largest orange pepper greenhouse!

Kayla Seidler, North Dakota State University

Day 11: Sometimes We are Challenged

Written by Danielle Cooney, University of Illinois

It’s funny how 12 days can change so much of your personal perspective and yet at the same time feel like hardly anything has changed at all. With such a short trip as the one we are on it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, new ideas and thoughts and how easy it is to paint a beautiful picture of an amazing, problem and challenge-free experience. However, sometimes it just isn’t so and it’s how you react to the situation that shows the development and maturation that comes with travel and, at least for me, today I hit the wall of frustration in the culture shock development curve.

Before I share our day’s adventures I want to share two quotes that helped me push through and challenge myself to find the value in today’s experiences.

“If you are 22, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you travel – as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them-wherever you go.”

-Anthony Bourdain

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle

This was our first morning in Bangkok, and boy was it a challenge to get up. Not only did we have a very lovely hotel suite with a very comfy bed, but it was also very muggy and rainy. Making for a perfect day to crawl back in and enjoy the comforts of the hotel. Additionally at this point, most of us are facing the challenge of missing our families and friends and wanting to be connected to wifi to chat with them longer than a few short exchanges. However, we had an adventure waiting for us to experience so persevere, we did.

This first stop was at a temple ruin in Ayuthaya. At this temple not only did you get to walk up the original bricks (kind of nerve wracking as they were well worn, steep, and grooved out, everyone watch your step!) but we also watched individuals buying gold foil to drop down into some sort of well and to also stick pieces on the Buddha structures.

The second stop was a similar temple ruin but from the result of an attack by the Burmese; seeing the remains of a beautiful site be completely destroyed by a fire.

Here lied yet another challenge: continuing to understand and respect the significance of another culture and religion. Through experiencing many different interactions with locals and different Temples we are beginning to piece together and attempting to understand what the religion holds important as well as the values and traditions associated. We are at a point where it is easy to say “I don’t care about this religion any more, it’s not mine, I don’t believe the values and I don’t understand the significance of looking at another one. The weather is so hot and humid in Bangkok. I don’t want to be here” and brush aside the experience. Yes, I was guilty of this, but it’s the going back and pushing to understand why the Thai view it as important.  It’s understanding the history and significance behind the challenge they faced in establishing their country and structure. It’s understanding the foundation that governs the current actions, what they view as important and how that impacts choices they might make regarding agriculture and millions of Thai people. It’s growing outside of your comfort zone and finding value in an experience even when it’s frustrating.

Our next adventure was the floating markets and a lunch stop. What an interesting place. All the markets are on docks and some of the vendors and our cooks actually sat in boats and prepared our meal. The food was great and some of us tried some new things. One interesting thing was sitting on the ground eating off the equivalent of a coffee table. Again came the challenge of the language barrier, trying to ask what had been ordered and then my tables confusion when we realized that food and drink were paid for separately to two different waitresses. Great food, but certainly annoying to try and figure out while still remaining civil and respectful to our server trying to do their job as best they can.

The final stop of the trip was a bottled tea company. From our initial view and entrance into the company it had a very “Google like” appearance and atmosphere while boasting slogans of green environmentally friendly production. We learned that the next day was national children’s day and the company was preparing for the event where they would host local children. We then viewed a very impressive video on the output and maximization of production and market. The company’s smart start seemed to achieve and easily enter the market. Then came the factory tour. This was sure to be exciting because of the highly mechanized process that came with the company, as it only employs 200 people but can produce 600 bottles/min.

What started out as a great learning experience module, great views of the mechanized system and a really cool experience quickly became a challenge that none of us had anticipated facing: the prevalent misunderstanding of conventional and organic agriculture. Similar stories of misrepresentation of agriculture and facts we know are just not quite as accurate as the picture they are portrayed as but ones that support the foundation of some of the company’s beliefs. We had to have enough maturity to remain composed and open to what information was being shared while still thinking how we could possible bridge this communication and misinformation. We wanted to embrace and fully experiences the intensity and complexity of such a mechanized and efficient process so we continued on with the experience.

One of the interesting points was understating how they created thin and more environmentally friendly bottles for the tea and experiencing the warehouse.  Surprisingly, the warehouse keeps enough inventory for only seven days before it is distributed. The only way to really describe this mechanized system is like the door system in the Monsters Inc movie!  It was absolutely incredible to watch and view. Finally, an interactive game explaining a new product and a learning module developed for interactive student learning.  We sampled a fruit punch green tea. It was pretty good and sugary coming from a non-tea drinker.

Finally, most of us rode the sky tram to a mall market and found dinner here. We were faced with the ever-growing temptation, challenge and choice of food versus shopping and then continue on to Thai food versus American.  I know this is a small bump in the road and if I continue to persevere I can learn a lot, if not more by being challenged this way. Looking forward to the last few days of our trip and experiences, be reunited with our other Fellows and learn about their perspectives and then see our families and friends. See you soon!