Agricultural practices in Scotland

Hello again! The exchange has been a whirlwind of activity, and so far it has really been fantastic. I've been moving around a lot, but seeing so much! I'm going to take some time and give everyone the low-down on my past month spent in Scotland. I've traveled from the SW, to the NE, and then somewhere in between. Only a few minor travel troubles in between, but I've made it through unscathed! Scottish agriculture is a whole new ball game. Mixed farming (cattle, sheep, and crops) operations are everywhere. Farms typically range in size from 200-600 acres of land, though there are a few bigger ones with a couple thousand acres of cropland. The Scottish hills and large amounts of rock prevent the use of the land for arable purposes, so cattle and sheep abound. Land that is suitable for crops is usually occupied with barley. In the south, where it is a little bit warmer, some wheat, maize, and rye are also grown. Wheat that is grown is awn-less, not bearded like ours is. So from a distance, the fields of barley look more like our wheat than the actual wheat does. The maize is purely for feeding cattle in Scotland, and it differs quite a bit from Kansas corn in appearance and darkness of green. In the north there were quite a few turnips (aka "neeps" or "swedes") grown for livestock feed, and barley was popularly grown for whiskey distilleries. Growing seasons for the grass crops are much longer than ours, taking up the whole year. Winter barley is planted around September and harvested the following August. Spring barley will be planted later and harvested just a month or two earlier than the winter barley, depending on the weather. Fungicide is sprayed regularly to prevent water-related diseases from killing the crop, and growth regulators are also used to make sure the plant doesn't get too tall and fall over. Genetically modified (GM) seeds are not allowed in most of Europe, so that is quite often a fun topic for discussion, and a large variance between the USA and UK agriculture. Stone fences are almost everywhere in Scotland, as there is usually a very close source of rock. They are one of my favorite features of the country, as they add a lot of character to the scenery. Often though, there is a barbed wire fence built just inside the stone fence to prevent animals from rubbing on the rocks and knocking the fence down. Tram lines are also widely used in Scotland and the UK. They look like tire tracks through a field, though they are permanent and planned. Used for navigation purposes since GPS in machinery is not yet widespread, tram lines are sown (or not sown rather) into the field. The crop is planted in 24m intervals and has 2 lines blocked so seed is not planted and the tram lines are made. This saves on seed cost, as the farmer is not driving over their crops, and it helps farmers remember where they have been. With over 10 passes over a field per crop, it makes sense not to plant where you will trample it.

Tram lines in a field.

Claas combine, used in one of the bigger farms

Brand new John Deere combine, used on a larger sized operation

Popular machinery in Scotland are Claas and John Deere, though there are many other brands scattered around. It isn't a "red or green" preference like it normally is in the states. The machinery is generally smaller, as operation sizes are also smaller. No-till and minimal tillage farming practices are practically non-existent. The heavy clay and rock content makes planting directly into untilled soil nearly impossible. Hiring someone to do your harvest is common also, especially with under 200 acres.

Journey so far...

Hello all! Sorry it's been so long since I have written, free wireless internet isn't very common in hostels and airports I have been in lately. So what's new you ask?
   The U.S.A.  IFYE Orientation concluded this past Monday after 3 days in Wichita. There were 32 delegates from a dozen countries. We all had a great time meeting each other and touring Wichita, KS together. Among some of the sites we saw were Cow Town, the Native American Museum, the Wing Nuts baseball stadium, and the botanic gardens. Throughout the weekend we participated in various group building activities and listened to advice from past IFYEs. It was an eventful weekend, and we were all sad to leave each other on Monday. However, we were all quite ready to get to our host countries and start our own adventures.

Cow  Town, Wichita, KS

  My flight was set to leave at 5:05pm Monday afternoon, but winds in Chicago delayed it until 7pm. I was hustling to get to my flight from Chicago to London due to the delay, but it turns out I didn't need to rush. My second flight got delayed 4 hours too. So by 2am Tuesday morning I was sitting on a giant plane, trying to catch some shut eye, and headed to the biggest airport I've ever seen. Navigating London's Heathrow airport was an excursion for sure, but I made it. I was finally able to catch a different flight to Edinburgh that would allow me to get there only about 9 hours late. When I arrived in Edinburgh, I soon found that my checked luggage had not. After some careful packing prior to departure, I was thankful that I had all I really needed in my carry-on bag. So, I survived my first several days in Scotland with only half of my belongings, and thankfully my other bag showed up Thursday evening.

Scotland-aerial view

  Since I arrived to the country late, I missed spending some time in Lanarkshire, as was previously planned, and instead spent an extra couple of days in Edinburgh. It is a beautiful city with lots of historic buildings and sites. I took buses and taxis to the Royal Highland Show from Edinburgh daily, as the show grounds were the main hub for the Young Farmers Club (our 4-H equivalent). 

Outside of the Young Farmers Center on the grounds of the Royal Highland Show.
 I am  the cow in white, promoting the YFC. 

 I met up with the other 13 exchangees to Scotland at the show. Together we toured the Royal Highland Show (which is very similar to the Kansas State Fair), and we viewed the livestock competitions, tug-of-war, horse shoe making, sheep shearing, milk chugging, and cooking competitions. Another exchangee and I took part in a spur of the moment cook-off, where we had 20-minutes to prepare a meal using select ingredients. Although we lost, we came away with a fun memory, a consolation wooden spoon, and an apron!

Cattle competition

  There were also many shops and fast food vendors around, selling Scotland's most famous items. It was a wee bit rainy throughout much of the show, therefore wellies (a.k.a. mud-boots) were worn on 95% of the crowd. Among the eatery I fell in love with are "toasties", or pressed, toasted sandwiches; and crepes. I had tasted crepes before, but the marshmallow & chocolate combination is amazing! I also sampled haggis and black pudding at the show, neither of which were as terrifying as I first expected.

Black pudding, made with pigs blood among other ingredients. 

 As Young Farmer exchangees, we were also allowed to partake in the Young Farmers dance on the last Saturday of the show. It was a big event with a huge turnout. Several double-decker buses were filled with members ages 18-30 to take us to the club where the event was held. One of the more popular dance song I have heard thus far would have to be John Denver's "Country Roads", although it is a European re-mix.

 The Royal Highland Show ended on Sunday, and of course it was raining. The rain didn't seem to hurt the turnout for the event.... I think the Scottish have become used to it. At about 2pm, the exchangees set off to their next set of host families, some in pairs (like myself), and others by themselves. Anneliese from Austria and I are now staying with the Templeton family in the small village of Kirkcowan in SW Scotland. Hugh Templeton and his daughter Libby raise cattle and sheep, primarily for their meat. I will post more about my time with the Templeton's later on. Until then, cheers!!

one of my favorite views so far

 Some fun vocabulary I have learned thus far:
 crisps= potato chips
 chips= thick cut french fries
 queue= line of people
 lush= awesome, wonderful
 steak roll= hamburger

 posh= hip, fashionable, cool