Greetings from the farthest point south that this fellow has ever traveled! The Patagonian region of Argentina is home to the the third largest ice field in the world, and Los Glaciares National Park. At roughly 18,000 square kilometers, the ice covers an area larger than the entire state of Connecticut. We visited the Perito… Continue reading Ice Gazing
...but me loves me Olive Oyl more. Many of us love our olive oil too and today the VALOR Fellows visited Bodegas Zuccardi Vineyards and Winery. Along with that amazing experience we were also given a tour of their olive oil production facilities. Familia Zuccardi has approximately 900 acres of olives. We learned that about… Continue reading Me loves me spinach…
Day 5 of the international trip was reserved for the VALOR fellows to visit Don Roberto Ranch This particular ranch is located just west of Villa Mercedes in the Province of San Luis. Don Roberto is one of five ranches in San Luis owned by the Guerrero family. In all, they manage about 46,500 acres… Continue reading Young Calves Populate “El Ranchero”
"I've Got a Crush on You", "You've got to kiss a few frogs to find a Prince", "I'm nuts over you", and "Virginia's for Lovers". No, this blog isn't about finding love, but it is about a group of people that love agriculture and their tour of operations in Argentina. So here is it Day… Continue reading Day 4: VALOR International
Today we visited Cabana de Constancia, a diversified farming operation in the Sante Fe Provimce. Such beautiful grounds. Señor Gallo and his family operate their family farm, there we saw sheep, goats, llamas, ducks, and chickens. In addition we saw a plethora of plants on the grounds including a fig tree, orange and tangerine trees,… Continue reading But, no Koalas
The Fellows second day was full of interesting and exciting things. Our guide Henry providing all manner of information about Argentine farming in the Buenos Aires Province. After a fantastic lunch provided by the Calderon family in Pergamino we visited their equipment facility. Nestled among various pieces of equipment was this circa 1964 Chevy Impala… Continue reading Who would have thought…
White Nose Syndrome sounds like a really bad title for a documentary about cocaine addiction. I can however tell you that it has nothing to do with drugs. Sadly it is a disease which is spreading across the eastern United States and is devastating our bat population. The following is from the National Wildlife Health… Continue reading “White Nose Syndrome” …. What?
Dr. Richard Crowder was able to speak to the VALOR fellows during our November seminar, "Addressing Agriculture Issues". Our group started this seminar on the Land Grant campus of Virginia Tech, where Dr. Crowder is currently serving as an adjunct professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. On January 14, 2013, the American… Continue reading Introducing Ambassador Crowder
A trip to Southwest Virginia would have been lacking for VALOR fellows had we not learned about the coal industry in Virginia; and we did just that in Seminar III. VALOR is considered “a premier leadership program for adults in agriculture,” and it’s important to remember when developing well-informed leaders they must gain an appreciation… Continue reading Coal Country
This iconic photo from the Dust Bowl era has long represented the struggles of Americans during the Depression/Dust Bowl in America during the 1930’s. The following video shows some stark images resulting from the intense use of the land to meet the demand for food. Hopefully we have learned the lessons of the Thirties and… Continue reading It’s all about the Soil & Water
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