Danish Dairy Insight

This June we were planning on traveling with a group of students to learn more about agriculture in Denmark as we did in June of 2019. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 this, along with other study abroad courses, has been cancelled. If you have been following our social media platforms you have noticed we have virtually been exploring the globe over the past couple of days. In response to our virtual travels Karolina Sikala from the Green Academy in Aarhus, Denmark shared several videos with us. Our post this week will highlight one of the videos she shared from the Danish Agriculture and Food group. Utilize the discussion points below to guide your conversations around the globe.

Dairy Barn Equipment and Welfare

Discussion Points

• What are your main takeaways from the video and why?
• How would you compare practices showcased in this video from Denmark compared to how things are done in your home region? Compare and contrast to other parts of the world as well.
• Why is it important (or not important) in agriculture to explore how agriculture and farming practices differ and/or are similar around the world? Can this practice of learning how things are done differently or similarly around the globe be carried over to areas outside of agriculture?

Fukushima Dairy

When people think about the Fukushima area in Japan they often remember the earthquake and tsunami that caused a nuclear crisis in 2011, but one couple is trying to change that reputation with their Jersey cattle. Linked below is a story about Daisuke and Nana Shimizu's farm. They discus their challenges and successes in the article. Within the article there is a six minute video that showcases their farm and how it operates. We encourage you to read through the article, watch the video, and utilize the discusion points to guide conversations around the globe.

Couple Dreams of Revitalizing Fukushima with Jersey Milk

Discussion Points

• What challenges do the Shimizu's face on their farm and with consumers? What are they doing to overcome these challenges?
• What are the similarties and differences when you compare dairy production at Farm Tsubasa compared to your home region?
• What did you find most interesting from this story? What is your big take away? Explain.

Getting Rural in Denmark

Today we kicked off our day visiting a dairy milking 500 head of cows. The farmer actually removed robots from his operation in order to expand with future growth potential yet to come. Everyone was impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the dairy operation. From the farm we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch before visiting AgroLab which tests chemicals for outside companies and helps them get their products approved for the market. We learned about the process, checked out the equipment used, and looked at some test plots. We also discovered that 85% of the land in Denmark is utilized for agriculture.

We enjoyed a relaxing evening and dinner at Ove and Else Marie's home on the island of Fanoe. Fanoe will be our home base over the next couple days as we enjoy our weekend in Denmark. Check out this YouTube link for a recap of our day!

Floating Dairy Farm

Our world is covered 70% by water so why not farm or raise livestock on the water? This is exactly what is being developed in the Netherlands as they are creating a floating dairy farm with plans for additional floating farms. Below we have linked a video created by AgCultures from the University of Minnesota. AgCultures travels around the globe and documents the story of agriculture at all levels. We encourage you to watch the linked video and utilize the discussion points provided to guide your conversations. 

The World's First Floating Dairy Farm

Discussion Points

• Explain the concept of the floating dairy farm? 
• There are plans for a dedicated space on the farm for education. Why is this so important?
• The importance of "transparency" is mentioned in this video and we have heard and seen this in other European countries as well. Why is transparency important? Is agriculture transparent in your home community/country? What could be done to improve transparency?
• Besides the floating dairy there are plans for two additional floating farms as well. Do you see this concept working? What other types of farms could become floating? 

From Mystery to Ministry to the Dairy Industry

Today was truly a spectacular day! We arrived late Sunday night to Kosovo. It was dark and many went to bed once we got to the hotel so Kosovo was still a mystery to our travelers until the sun rose on our Monday and we were able to experience Kosovo for the first time. Our Monday morning consisted of meetings with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education. We first met with Minister Rikalo at the Ministry of Agriculture. He shared success and challenges of agriculture in Kosovo and the importance of agriculture to the country. He, also, had many great questions for the Iowa students and educators about agricultural education in the United States. Next we made our way to the Ministry of Education to visit with Minister Bytyqi. This provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the education system in Kosovo. We discussed successes and challenges facing education in Kosovo.

After our meetings we made our way to lunch in a beautiful setting. We enjoyed lunch outside and took time to slow down and enjoy conversation. Following lunch we traveled to EuroLona a dairy and dairy processing facility. We were able to see the entire process from the cattle to a processing facility that bottles milk and produces yogurts and cheeses.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a nearby restaurant, followed up by some gelato near our hotel. We are capping off a great day with a little time at the pool spa in the hotel. We look forward to tomorrow with a day with USAID in the countryside before participants meet their host site partners.

Exploring Dairy, Education, and Potatoes in Kosovo

We started off the day with a large group of the delegation meeting with the Minister of Innovation, Besim Beqaj, at the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo. The minister did a great job of outlining possible areas of growth for education and his vision for Kosovo to lead IT in the region with all the young people in Kosovo. We were able to have great discussion and ask many questions.

After our breakfast, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, we broke off from the large group and we headed to Eurolona. Eurolona is a farm who’s main products are dairy and wheat. While Eurolona is a farm they are also a processing facility for dairy producing milk, yogurts, cheese, and other dairy products. They utilize all of their milk and buy milk from other area farmers to produce all of their products that are currently sold in Kosovo. As their operation grows they are looking towards the possibility of export markets. Currently they are milking in a tie stall setup, but are in the process of switching to a free stall/open setup with an eight herring bone parlor. It was great to see their setup and tour their facilities. We were even able to see some genetics from Iowa State University as Eurolona is the home of the first embryo transfer cattle in Kosovo and the region. This work has been done by Dr. Curt Youngs from Iowa State University.

For lunch we enjoyed another spectacular meal in an outdoor setting. Many enjoyed fish while others opted for steak or calzones. Following lunch we met with Almir an agricultural educator at the Prishtina Agriculture High School and the principal of the school. This is the only magnet agriculture school in the country. They currently have 530 students studying agriculture. Unfortunately, there were no students on campus as it was a national holiday. We were able to see their awesome facilities including their food lab, greenhouses, computer labs, orchard, and science laboratories. We will return to the Prishtina Agriculture High School on Friday to learn more about their program and see their school farm.

Before retuning to the hotel we visited M&6 Products who process potatoes into french fries and also create kroket, which is similar to a mozzarella stick with meat chunks. Thanks to Almir for sharing agriculture in Kosovo with us today. After returning to the hotel we had the opportunity to enjoy dinner at nearby Soma and enjoy conversations with colleagues and friends from Iowa. We look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

A Day of Dairy, Corn, and Soybeans

Today was a spectacular day of exploring agriculture in Brazil. We started off our day visiting the Piracanjuba dairy training center. Piracanjuba is a dairy company that produces and sells milk, cheese, and other dairy products. This center provides training for employees of dairy farms selling milk to Piracanjuba and also sends advisors out to farms to improve production. Students enjoyed comparing production practices in the USA to Brazil. One of the surprising challenges that Brazil is working to address is their high somatic cell count.

After lunch we visited a soybean and corn farm. The most common production practice is soybeans as a first crop followed by corn as a second crop. With irrigation they are starting to produce tomatoes, sweet corn, or edible beans as a third crop. This year they are going to follow the second crop with an African grass grazed with beef cattle in half of their fields. The grass helps reduce compaction in the fields. We were able to see harvest (soybeans) and planting (corn) within the same field in the same day. To end our time at the farm we visited second season corn crop that was 120 day maturity that was 7-8 feet tall after just 52 days of production.  It was an eye opening experience for all once again comparing production between our two countries.

We ended the evening at the hot springs pool at our hotel in Caldas Novas. We enjoyed an evening of conversation and reflection on the day at the pool and enjoyed dinner poolside. Unfortunately, our WiFi has not worked the best which is the reason for this late post. 

Antimicrobial Resistance in Kenya

Antibiotics are a tool that farmers and producers can use to battle sickness and disease with their livestock. But like many things in this world, if a good thing is overused or abused there can be harmful results. This is the case with antimicrobial resistance. Often times developing countries can be at a much higher risk of antimicrobial resistance for a variety of reasons. The linked video from the FAO shows how farmers in Kenya are protecting against antimicrobial resistance.

AMR in Kenya - Rising to the Challenge

Discussion Points

• What is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? If someone walked up to you on the street and asked you what AMR is and why it is a concern what would you tell them?
• What are farmers in Kenya doing to combat and protect against AMR? Of these practices which do you feel is most important and why?
• In the video it stated that developing countries are at a higher risk of AMR. Why is this?
• The "one health" concept mentioned in the video calls on everyone to fight AMR. Why is this so important? How do we get everyone to "buy in" to fighting AMR?

Green Milk

Many are well aware of China’s growing demand for food speicifically meat. However, did you now that milk consumption is on the rise in China as well? The linked article takes a look at this demand and the potential impact expanding could have on the country if practices are not changed and improved. We encourage you to read through the linked article and utilize the discussion points provided to guide conversations around the world!

China’s Need to Turn Milk Green

Discussion Points

• What has been the trend of milk consumption in China over the past years and what direction is it heading?
• The article calls for a need to change current practices. What would be the impact if dairy production expanded in China and dairy producers kept doing “business as usual?”
• China is calling on other countries for advice and education to improve their practices. As a world community we can all learn so much from another. Whether we adapt others practices directly or it causes us to reflect, analyze, and improve things indirectly; we can truly learn so much from one another. We challenge you to pick an area of interest to you in agriculture (dairy, swine, crops, horticulture, natural resources, etc.) and research another countries practices, rules and regulations, facilities/equipment, etc. Have a discussion on what your home country can learn from that country and what you might do differently to improve things at home.

Dairy Cattle and Monkeys

Today was another great day! We made our way to Piracanjuba Dairy about an hour from our hotel. The site that we visited was a smaller operation with about 480 total head of cattle and they were milking under 200 head twice a day. This site is utilized for training dairy farmers and workers in dairy production and practices. They covered everything from milking practices to management practices to artificial insemination. This training is open for all, but farmers who sell their milk to Piracanjuba get first priority. Piracanjuba has three large dairys across Brazil. Combined these three sites produce 1.5 million gallons of milk each day. At the farm we visited they had a variety of different breeds for training purposes, but the majority of dairy cattle are 7/8 Holstein and 1/8 Zebu.

We had several students with us that come from a dairy background. They enjoyed comparing the similarities and differences between dairy production in the USA and Brazil. They analyzed everything from nutrition to facilities.

We went for a traditional burger and fries for lunch before making our way to UFG (Universidade Federal de Goias) to tour campus. We started on the Agronomy campus with a tour of the coffee and food lab. All coffee for campus is roasted in this lab and quality tested. Next we found the monkeys! This is always a highlight for the students. We were, also, able to visit the TV station for UFG and learn about the workings of the station and programming.

We ended the evening by walking down the street from our hotel for supper and chocolate snacks. The catch was we no longer had a translator with us. We were surely a sight trying to order dinner at Giraffe's. When we made our way to the chocolate shop we were rescued by a nine year old boy who translated for us. We were very grateful! We are now enjoying an evening at the rooftop pool discussing the day and reflecting on what we have learned so far. Tomorrow we head to the hot springs and then the town of Intumbiara.

Dairy and Asian Nutrition

What hunger and nutrition looks like is changing in Asia. The article linked below takes a look at hunger and nutrition trends and issues in Asia. We encourage you to read the linked article and have conversations with others around the globe utilizing the discussion points provided.

Dairy Potential Ally in Asian Nutrition

Discussion Points

• What has been the trend in regards to hunger in Asia in the last 25 years and why have we seen this?
• How are diets and health changing in Asia and why?
• What is the difference between hunger and malnutrition?
• Why are small dairy farmers in Asia key to battling malnutrition?
• What are additional ways that nutrition can be improved in Asia as well as your local community?
• Often times people will state that "healthy food starts with a healthy soil." What does this statement mean to you?

India Milk Production Soars

Below you will find a link to an article discussing milk and dairy production in India. Production has recently boomed in India and this article takes a look at why this has occurred  along with it's impacts and future outlook. Read the linked article and use the discussion points below to share conversations with others.

India Milk Production

Discussion Points

• What have been the trends in dairy/milk production in India and what has caused these trends?
• What effect has India's dairy production had on global milk markets and trade?
• What recent change has effected dairy production and trade in the European Union? Explain.
• What does the outlook for dairy production look like globally?
• Additional Research: The article mentioned milk production from cows and buffalo. Compare and contrast milk production between cows and buffalo and share your findings with others.