acg scsc689 s1_scotland
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SCOTLAND: STUDY ABROAD, SUMMER 2010
Natural Resources and Agricultural Sustainability in the UK
BACKGROUND & PURPOSE
Trip Goals:
1. Experiential Learning2. Technology Transfer
partially funded by a travel grant from the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture
Who was Norman Borlaug?
An agronomist.
• He won the Nobel Peace Prize• Congressional Gold Medal Winner• 50 honorary Doctorate Degrees• His work on high-yield, disease
resistant grains helped save billions of lives from starvation in: Mexico, Asia, Afria, India, and Pakistan
“Reach for the stars. Although you will never touch them, you may get a little stardust on your hands.”
- Norman Borlaug (1914 – 2009)- Agronomist & unsung hero
- Father of the Green Revolution
Inspired by: The Man Who Fed the World
MISSION
Scotland will serve as a comparative case study of U.S. and Scottish natural resources, land use, agricultural production, and management practices.
Students will observe how … geography, culture, history, and economics help define sustainable solutions.
Topics to be covered are:
• Conservation• Energy production• Farming• Fisheries• Forestry• Manufacturing• Sustainable land use• Tourism• and Soil Sampling
TEAM SCOTLANDInter Disciplinary
• 3 Grad Students
• 4 Undergrads• 2 Professors
Andrew Gayley
Jason McMillan
Brittany Bates
John Baddeley/SAC
Laura Bradt
Robin Walker/SAC
Rachel Brooks
Rachel Brauner
Ben Meritt
TRIP LEADERSLed by Co-Facilitators from the:
Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Dr. Jacqueline Aitkenhead-Peterson
Assistant Professor ofUrban Nutrient and Water ManagementDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences
Dr. Cristine L. Morgan
Assistant Professor of Soil ScienceDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciences
Miss Orie Varner (not pictured)
Trip AdvisorStudy Abroad Programs Office (SAPO)
TRAVEL ROUTEHouston - London – Aberdeen
• Distance: > 5,000 mi• Time: 23 hrs? w/ layovers, ash, taxis
TRAVEL ROUTE1,400 mi Road Trip
• Two Cars• Figure 8 (Aberdeen to Aberdeen)• All geographic regions
ACADEMICS & RESEARCHOverview:
Crash-course in the organization of Scottish technical higher education
Interacted with:
20 Administrators, Instructors, and Researchers from …
4 Academic and Research Institutes, and also visited …
8 Active Field Research Stations
Observed all geographic regions
NE GRAMPIAN REGIONMacaulay Land-Use Research
Institute• Soil, environmental studies, and
land-use• DOC in peatlands and upland
watersheds
SAC Craibstone Estate, Research Farms
• Long-term crop hill and woodland plots
• Intercropping; nutrient budgets (N, P, K); weed/pest/disease control; energy budgets; GHGs; biodiversity; economics
• Also: herbs, oil seeds, pharms, vet srvcs
WESTERN ISLANDS
WESTERN ISLANDSIsles of Mull, Staffa, Iona• Crofting, sheep, fishing,
tourism• Threatened Corncrake habitat
SAMS, Dunstaffnage• Salmon farms and benthic
ecology• International consultation
Ben Cruachan Reserve Power Scheme
• 440 MW 22hr Max (12hr Rsv), 28s
• H2O pumped 360m from Loch Awe
• Turbines are below sea level
LOTHIANS REGIONSAC, Bush Estates, CEH
• Cereal trials• Observe N levels, pest, & disease
reaction to fertilizer / till treatments• DNA and molecular chemistry lab
capabilities• EGENES: statistical pedigree
recordkeeping & services for cattle, sheep, poultry, and fish
EDINBURGH – CAPITAL CITYEdinburgh’s Royal Mile
• Upper: Edinburgh Castle (c. 1093)
Scottish Parliament (since 1999)
• ‘Holyrood’ completed in 2004
St. Giles Cathedral
• High Kirk of Edinburgh
Palace of Holyroodhouse
• Queen’s Residence while in Scotland
BORDERS REGIONWhim Moss Peat Bog Experiment Station• Effects of different forms of N on:
lichen, sphagnum moss, peat moss, heather
• Ammonia, ammonium, nitrate, etc.• Simulates fertilizers & poultry
influence
Auchencorth Moss Carbon Attachment• EU Air Quality Monitoring ‘Supersite’• PM10, radiation, temp, rainfall,
deposition flux: of ammonia, NOX, SO2, O3, base ions
• Analyzers / modems in skid-mount bldgs
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAYSAC, Crighton Estate @ Dumfries
• SAC Dairy Research Station (UofE)
• Research focused on bovine health, dairy (milk) production, animal temperament, and food security
• Experiments: forage, silage, loafing, furniture, slurry application
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAYSAC, Crighton Estate
• Support EGENES with X-ray and CT Scan services available to top sheep breeders
• Interesting history and architecture
• Emphasis on food security
ARGYLL & BUTENew Lanark – World Heritage Site
• Largest cotton mill in Great Britain on the Clyde Falls
• Est. by Robert Owens (1800’s): industrial & social reformer
• Peregrine Falcon Nesting/Birding Site
WESTERN HIGHLANDSSAC Kirkton, Upland Sheep Research Station• Demonstration farm, providing:
ecological, economic, ultrasound services
• Climate stats & micro-renewables
Loch Region (the Highland Lakes)• Lochs Etvie, Laggan, Lorn, Awe,
Lomond, Clatteringshaw, and Tay• Drove through Trossachs National Park
WESTERN HIGHLANDSOld Tyndrum Lead Mines - near Crianlarich
• On the West Highland Way• Operational: 18th to early 20th century• Historic depiction: tools, life, hazards,
diet, and compensation for a typical lead miner
• Soil sampling: upstream, tailing and leachfield nearcrusher, smelter, downstream floodplain
CENTRAL AND TAYSIDEStirling / Falkirk – on River Forth
• Falkirk Wheel: 13m elevation• Forth and Clyde Canal: tunnel,
lock system• Old Stirling Bridge
NORTH SEA & ABERDEENSHIREChaleton Fruit Farms• Production Farm: tabletop, drip irrigation• Climate: hoop houses, biodegradable plastic
row cover
Cairngorms National Park• Ecology, mature forests, stream
geomorphology, land management, and DOC in streams
CULTURAL EXCHANGE
CULTURAL EXCHANGE
OVERARCHING THEMES
Land Management:• Scotland: 1/9 size of Texas• Population: 1/5 Texas• 75% in less favored areas• Crop rotation and stewardship
Water Quality:• 3X rainfall of Texas• Peat bog leachate, fertilizer
runoff, manure impacts, erosion, lochs
Air Quality:• Agriculture is significant
contributor• NO2 has 300X warming potential
of CO2
• 80% reduction mandated by Kyoto
THE SYNTHESISTriple Point:
• Stewardship – Water Quality – Air Quality
• Falls within a range dictated by: - Market Price
- System Health - Waste Minimization
- Energy Conservation - Aesthetics of the land• The moving target is: Balance
The ‘balance’ seemed to be confounded by another intangible factor:
• Heightened nationwide Social Conscious• Regarding food production and
consumption• Noticed ‘Fairtrade’ labels in almost every
store
What is Fairtrade?
THE SYNTHESISBetween 2004 to 2007:
Scotland and Wales strove to become the world’s first Fairtrade Nations
Mission:
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
Buy local – otherwise buy fair.
THE MESSAGEParting Thought:
• Old Mediterranean proverb:“a triple braided rope is not easily broken”
• In our case, those braids might be: Fair Trade - Stewardship – EducationFinally:
• Thanks to Dr. Peterson, Dr. Morgan, and Orie
• They breathed life into an old quote by the German educator, Kurt Hahn: “Tell me, and I may forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I'll understand”
The group definitely has a better understanding of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sustainability in Scotland.
THE END
Big Thanks –
it was brilliant!
ODE TO A HAGGIS BY RABBIE BURNS
Excerpts from Original
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!Aboon them a' ye tak your place,Painch, tripe, or thairm:Weel are ye wordy o' a graceAs lang's my arm.
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,The trembling earth resounds his tread.Clap in his walie nieve a blade,He'll mak it whissle;An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,Like taps o' thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,And dish them out their bill o' fare,Auld Scotland wants nae skinking wareThat jaups in luggies;But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,Gie her a haggis!
Translation
Fair is your honest happy faceGreat chieftain of the pudding raceAbove them all you take your placeStomach, tripe or gutsWell are you worthy of a graceAs long as my arm
But take note of the strong haggis fed ScotThe trembling earth resounds his treadClasped in his large fist a bladeHe'll make it whistleAnd legs and arms and heads he will cut offLike the tops of thistles
You powers who make mankind your careAnd dish them out their mealsOld Scotland wants no watery foodThat splashes in dishesBut if you wish her grateful prayerGive her a haggis!