Leaving, on a jet plane...

It is about 10:30pm NZ time and Chesley is down for the count...you guys will appreciate the fact that she actually fell asleep in her highchair while we were eating dinner (I think that everyone is WORN out) but after her catnap she was revived until just a few moments ago. She has been a wee bit out of sorts the last few days as she finally succumbed to the flu/cold that has been so graciously passed around.

Don't worry...I think that the group on their way across the pond is mostly on the mend. Just wanted to post a quick note to let you know that they departed Christchurch this afternoon @ 4:30pm. We were able to stay with them until they headed through security for their domestic flight to Auckland. They were scheduled to layover for about 90 minutes (in which time they needed to pay their departure taxes, and switch terminals) and they were scheduled to depart Auckland for SFO @ 7:30pm. I am assuming that no news is good news and that they are about 3+ hours into their Trans-pacific journey. Home before you know it...

Now that we are not moving around quite as much, Matt & I will endeavour to update the blog. There are numerous posts that have been written, but we were unable to post due to poor connections. We will try to organize and post in the next few days. Also, I know that our most recent posts have been a wee bit wordy...we will try to lighten things up with pics and videos too. Moral of the story...it isn't over yet!!! Don't be a stranger...there is still so much more to share.

And to those Mums & Dads, husbands, significant others, families reading this...we are already missing your young growers!!! It was our pleasure to show them around the South Island!!!

Cheers, Mary (Matt & Baby Chesley)

That's all she wrote... (Thursday, Feb.21, 2008)

Our last day in New Zealand.

How could two weeks have flown by so fast?? After packing our bags for the last time, our cells were unlocked at the Jailhouse and we were set free. The morning was spent shopping in Christchurch for souvenirs to bring to our loved ones (and last minute purchases for ourselves) and viewing the artworks in the Arts Centre http://www.artscentre.org.nz/ and Christchurch Art Gallery http://www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz/ and the collections of early Antarctic exploration and traditional Maori society at the Canterbury Museum http://www.canterburymuseum.com/. A few of the group even brushed shoulders with the Prime Minister who was visiting some of the same museums!

For our final meal together, we headed off to Arjee Bhajee, (http://www.arjeebhajee.co.nz/) one of Matt and Mary’s favorite local restaurants...Indian food with attitude. The owner of the restaurant provided us with a brief overview of the restaurant’s history, how he developed the unique dining experience and restaurant brand as well as the experience of opening a second establishment. At the airport we said our goodbyes to Matt, Mary, Liz, Graham and Chesley and boarded our plane for the beginning of nearly 24 hours of travel back to PA. Matt and Mary, we don’t know how to thank you enough for guiding us through an experience of a lifetime. But I believe the energy and ideas gained from our trip will be evident as the members of this group of 12 young growers forge their future in the Mid-Atlantic fruit industry. Cheers!!

Sidney Kuhn

Why are we on a dairy farm again? (Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008)

Wednesday Feb 20, our next to last day in NZ, was a bit of a whirlwind. We rolled out from the Jailhouse in Christchurch to meet Neil Gow and Bruce Greig at the Lincoln Dairy Farm http://www.siddc.org.nz/ludf.html , http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/story23244.html. Neil is quite the legend in the South Island farming community; he lectured in farm management at Lincoln for over 40 years and has essentially educated two generations of farmers. There aren’t too many things about NZ ag that Neil doesn’t know, or too many people he doesn’t know. His network is pretty incredible – even extending to the US (his son Hamish is currently a professor in the ag economics department at Michigan State). And perhaps most importantly, he was one of advisors during my time at Lincoln http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/. Bruce is originally from South Africa, and has worked with many progressive farms in the South Island, particularly in the dairy sector, before coming to lecture at Lincoln.

Even though no one in our group came from a dairy background, I felt it was really important that we visit at least one dairy farm while in NZ. Why? Because dairying is quite different in NZ compared with PA, and although NZ has traditionally had a reputation for being a country full of sheep, it is increasingly becoming a country full of Fresians (NZ version of Holsteins). Dairy and wine are the current growth sectors for farming in NZ, with dairy undergoing a pretty substantial boom at the moment thanks to historically high international dairy commodity prices. The dairy industry is currently creaming it (ha ha) even with the exchange rate at unprecedented levels. Incidentally did you know that Fonterra http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com/Home/(the mega dairy coop) is the largest company in NZ, and the largest trader in NZ dollars in the world? Quite literally milk is the new gold in New Zealand farming and to really understand ag in New Zealand to have to at least have some appreciation of dairying.

Neil Gow, NZ ag legend...
Lincoln Dairy Farm Pics

So how exactly is dairying in NZ different from PA? For starters, its pasture based and seasonal - meaning the cows graze on their own (as opposed to being fed in barns) and are only milked when the grass is growing (about nine months on, three months off). Here in the South Island, dairy farms are big; a small farm would be 500 cows, but most new "conversions" are in the 1000 cow plus range. Dairying here also offers an interesting path for advancement known as "share milking". Share milking brings together a farm owner and a cow owner (generally a young person just starting out) in a revenue sharing arrangement (usually 50/50) that is beneficial to both parties. The farm owner provides the farm and dairy infrastructure, and the cow owner provides the cows and staffing. In this way young people can start out with very little and build equity as they increase and improve their herds, and move from smaller farms to bigger farms. The eventual goal for a share milker is the move into farm ownership. Finally, dairying in New Zealand is absolutely booming, while back in PA dairying is holding the line at best. The South Island is quickly being a major dairy region with massive areas being converted to dairying. Neil and Bruce told us that land appropriate for dairy farming is currently selling for about $50,000 NZD/hectare ($15,000 USD/acre), cows are selling for $2,400 NZD (they were $1,200 a year ago) and you’ll wait at least 18 months to get a cow shed (milking parlor) even started.

However, the boom in dairying is not all cream. The environmental impact of all these extra cows is really starting to bite in, and nutrient management is a major concern. Even though the cows here are grazing, dealing with what comes out the back end is still a big concern. Also, much of the dairying in the South Island relies heavily on irrigation to keep the grass growing, and it’s far from certain that there’s enough water to go around. Indeed, one of the major public debates right now revolves around a proposal known as the Central Plains Irrigation Scheme. This proposed irrigation project would take water from two rivers during high flow periods, store in a massive reservoirs, and deliver it to 160,000 ha (400,000 acres) of farmland during dryer times. Sounds good on the surface, except nowhere is exactly sure that there’s enough water to do this, and the group that want to build the scheme wants to use eminent domain to acquire the farms where the reservoir will be built – essentially forcibly displacing some farmers for the benefit of other farmers.

Anyhow…enough with the dairy farming chatter. After our discussion and tour at the Lincoln dairy we headed south to visit Murray Stevens http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/414449 and family. Murray and his wife and son operate one of the largest black currant producing operations in New Zealand with about 65 hectares (150 acres)! The really incredible thing about their farm is the high level of mechanization. Pruning, harvest, spraying, and renovation have all be automated to minimize labor inputs and costs and maximize profit potential. The crop is shipped up the Nelson to be juiced and concerted and eventually exported – mainly to GlaxoSmithKline for use in Ribena. Black currants are a crop we don’t really see in the US (they are actually illegal in some states due to disease and invasiveness concerns) but seeing have this farm makes one think… The Steven’s have also done some interesting "off farm investing on the farm." They’ve built a facility on the farm to house a company called Southern Seeds and also rent the company land for their operations. Southern Seeds does off-season seed line multiplication for northern hemisphere researcher and companies.

Black Currants in the FieldSpecialty Harvesting Equipment

After the Steven’s we had lunch a lunch of "Kiwi pies" at Hillyers – a Lincoln tradition. Pies are a part of Kiwi culture and having a pie is just one of those things you have to experience to really get the full New Zealand experience. Once lunch was over we headed into town (Christchurch) to do some shopping. We actually did a divide and conquer strategy, with Mary taking part of the group in search of knitting wool, while I headed off to a farm supply store (PGG-Wrightson’s) for farm boots. We also hit Untouched World http://www.untouchedworld.com/en/uw/(the outlet of course) and Kathmandu http://www.kathmandu.co.nz/ before going back to jail.

After some quick showers and a change we headed over to Rossendale Winery http://www.rossendale.co.nz/ for a wine tasting and dinner with the proprietor Brent Rawstron. Brent has a great story to tell about taking chances and doing things out of the norm. I won’t spoil it for you, as who knows, some of you reading this blog may to come to NZ someday and want to visit with Brent in person. I’ll just tell you that’s it’s an inspirational story about what can be done when you recognize an opportunity, take some chances and put your mind to making something work. It also involves air freighting beef to Germany, vineyards, and obviously a restaurant. We had a great evening! Neil and his wife Kate joined us for dinner as well as Richard and Mary Stevens and Graham and Sue Williams. Richard is a Senior Lecturer at Lincoln in Horticultural management was absolutely critical in helping me arrange farm visits – thanks Richard! Graham and Sue besides being our "Kiwi Mum and Dad" provided the group with a great orientation to New Zealand upon our arrival.

Wine Tasting with Brent Rawstron of Rossendale

Wow, that’s a long post. Guess I got a little carried away on the dairy farm thing.

R. Matt Harsh

Rafting & Rotary (Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008)

Tuesday began with a slight chill in the air, and sense of eagerness to go rafting on the rapids. Of course this was only after everyone woke up; as many people slept a little longer than they wanted to with the travel finally taking its toll. Once we all got set it was a quick 5 minute drive up the road to meet with John Acland at the Church of the Innocents. John and his family own and farm approximately 23,000 acres, some of which borders the river which we would be rafting on later that day (his son-in-law also happens to operate the rafting business). John met us as the Church of the Innocents, which is the original church that was built on the property when his family first began farming on the south island. There was no electricity in the church, with the only light being the sun light entering through the magnificent stained-glass windows. John explained to us how his family has gone about building their operation, and the size and ownership changes of the property. He also mentioned how he and his brother began to manufacture cattle identification tags as a side business to their farming operations. Finally, John took us through the cemetery next to the church, where everyone buried there has a connection with Mount Peel Station in some way. You can click here to learn more about the original John Acland, settler from England... http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/A/AclandJohnBartonArundel/AclandJohnBartonArundel/en

Church of the Innocents - Mount Peel Station

John Acland...station manager, farmer, father & story teller

After we all had learned about the area from John, it was time to get a more "hands on" experience...a.k.a. time to go rafting! http://www.rafts.co.nz/ We headed back up the road to gear up for the trip which meant wearing those fun wet suits again in addition to several layers of fleece like materials to keep us warm. We then piled into the van/bus and head to the river. The group then split in half with six of us in one boat and seven in the other. The guides that we had were absolutely wonderful. For the first 30 minutes or so the river was very smooth and they taught us what they call "plan A, plan B, and plan C". Plan A was learning the basic strokes and how to shift our weight in the boat. Plan B what to if someone falls out and how to help them. And plan C, as you may have guessed, was what to do if the boat flips (main thing: try not to panic….yeah right). Once we all thought we knew what we were doing we took our first class one rapid. After that everyone felt like they could take on anything. As we proceeded down the river the rapids got more intense as we all looked forward to the first class five. Everyone had the option to walk around the rapid if they chose to but since we all are thrill seekers we took on the river. Both boats made it through without any issue and couldn’t wait until the second class five. This one was fiercer than the first but since we all had become professionals we went at it full steam and made it through perfectly. After the rush of class five rapids we got to have some fun. Abby, Hannah, Maggie, Chris, and Leighton took turns jumping off some rocks into the river, and then most of us did a smaller jump and floated down the river for a while. The last leg of the trip was in the rafts again for some class 2 rapids. Oddly enough it was at this point where we had some people go overboard. Sid and Matt ended up in the river on the last rapid but made it back in with no problems...we attribute this to our guide who switched with another for the last part. Finally we made it back to the lodge where we showered and headed toward Lincoln.

The gang...

Our youngest fruitgrower & only Dad...just a wee bit to small for rafting...

Some of the awesome professional pics taken by the guys from Rangitata Rafts

Dinner capped off the evening with the Lincoln Rotary Club http://www.rotary.org.nz/. We all found it very enjoyable to interact with members of the local community, listening to their stories and telling our own as well. The main event of the evening was a presentation which Matt gave about farming in Pennsylvania compared to New Zealand, as well as chemical/mechanical peach thinning and the economic advantages of these concepts. His presentation fit perfectly since he was able to show how he is putting his degree from Lincoln to use which he completed with the help of the Rotary Foundation. Once the meeting was complete we all piled back in to short bus and headed down to the Jailhouse Accommodation http://www.jail.co.nz/ get some well need shut eye. (Don't forget to check out the Jailhouse slide show at the bottom of the blog!)

Ben Keim

Lots of driving with awesome views! (Monday, Feb. 18, 2008)

After a day in Queenstown, that involved airplanes and bungy jumping, we were off for a long day of driving, but not before a good breakfast. (Thanks Liz!) From Queenstown we were headed north to a family business called Barker’s of Geraldine (http://www.barkers.co.nz/) that made basically every type of jam and jelly that you can think of…blackberry, apricot, and black currant just to name a few. They also produced concentrated juice mix and wine. It was the wine that they first made and sold, then they branched out into the jams and drink mixes. Most of their products are sold to big distributors in food service. A smaller amount is sold at their retail store in Geraldine and through local New Zealand grocery stores. Along the way to Barker’s, we stoped at Lake Tekapo…the bluest lake that I have ever seen. It is so blue because of the snow melt from Mt. Cook. Mt. Cook is New Zealand’s highest Mountain.

Mount Cook

Church of the Good Shepard & The PA Apple Queen

Farmers' tribute to all the hard working dogs of the high country & our own Lindsey Kammerer


When we were finished at Barkers we had to drive for about 30 minutes to get to the Rangitata Rafting lodge (http://www.rafts.co.nz/). The lodge was way in the backwoods of New Zealand where pretty much all we saw on the way in were hundreds of sheep and deer. Once at the lodge, our host Tussock, treated us to a New Zealand BBQ of sausage that was really an acquired taste. So with full stomachs we were off to bed to be ready to go rafting in the morning.

Rangitata Rafts River Lodge

Wes Boyer

Hannah keepin it real in the canyon...

Adrenaline 101 (Sunday, Feb. 17th, 2008)

Today was a free day here in this lovely little spot called Queenstown. Everyone in the group had the option to choose their own activity so we had young growers all over the map today!

New Zealand offers some of the best panoramic views in the world, which are best maximized from the sky. Early Sunday morning two different groups packed into two small planes with two very different objectives; the first being sight seeing, the second being skydiving.

The weather was perfect, with a crystal blue sky and a view for miles. One group (Ben W, Sidney, Wes, Caitlin, & Leighton) took the scenic flight over Fiordland National Park and enjoyed the scenic mountain peaks, waterfalls, and peak-top lakes. http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/ A boat-cruise through Milford Sound followed which travelled the fiord out to the Tasman Sea. With a waterfall taller than Niagara Falls, the cameras were out and people were soaking up the beauty around them.

On a slightly different note, another group (Abby, Ben K, Chris, Jen, Maggie) took the skydiving plunge at12,000 feet- and yes they are still alive to tell the tale! http://www.nzone.biz/ The skydivers were left with a bird’s eye view of glacial lakes and the Remarkables (a bit of the mountain range in the Southern Alps). The Remarkables earn their name as they are one of two mountain ranges in the world to run "true" north-south. With a 45 second free-fall and a 3-4 minute hang-glide, the jump seemed over too soon.

In the afternoon, the good times started anew and some of the same skydivers, with the addition of the PA Apple Queen, headed off to the 106m Canyon Swing through Shotover Canyon behind Queenstown (Hannah, Jen, Chris, Maggie). http://www.canyonswing.co.nz/ We showered our spectators with blood-curling screams as we fell through the canyon- and we loved every second!

And what would adventure sport be to New Zealand without bungy? With a direct fall of 134m over a wee small river flowing through a rocky valley (Lindsey) conquered the Nevis jump. http://www.bungy.co.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/29 Moral of the story, Pennsylvania farmers face and conquer their fears!

On a lighter note, the non-adrenaline seekers (Harsh family), with a few of the fiordies (Caitlin, Ben W, Sidney) headed to the Kiwi Birdlife Park and saw the rare Kiwi birds, the Kea (alpine parrot), and falcons. http://www.kiwibird.co.nz/ The Tuatara, an actual species from the dinosaur era (picture an iguana/lizard), shocked its viewers with a third eye on top of the head. A Maori cultural show rounded out the afternoon with traditional singing, dancing, and warrior cries. Good times all around today! Cheers!

Sidney and Baby Girl with the SCARY Maori. I am just about to get the "Mom..you traitor" finger point. I did mention that they were in good company...Santa got an even worse reception.


Sunday evening, after a day full of death defying events, we celebrated Hannah's American birthday with cake and classic NZ Hokey Pokey ice cream. Leftovers were finished for breakfast Monday morning.

Maggie Reid