The Day the Trains Stood Still

Well, what a day it turned out to be. As the McCloy's met bright and early this morning we had prepared for a relaxing day touring the city of Koblenz, having a quick meeting with the Chamber of Agriculture before jumping on the train to head to our last stop of this wonderful adventure, Stuttgart. Mr. Netter picked us up from our hotel to start the day by dropping us in the middle of the city with our tour guide for the morning.

Herbert sped off as we began our walking tour in absolutely fabulous weather. We were informed that we had started in what would have been the center of the city during the Middle Ages. From what we saw, you would never be able to tell as everything in the square was modern, new and shiny. This is due, as we found out, to about 90% of the city being destroyed by bombing during WWII. Little did we know, we were in for a heck of a history lesson after that.

Koblenz is a city located at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers. The name Koblenz is actually dirived from the Latin word "confluentes" meaning the merging of two rivers. This alone should have indicated its historical importance. The city was founded by the Romans around 9 BC and was held until conquered by the Franks. It became a royal seat and was eventually given to archbishop and prince elector of Trier. A very strategic move for electing the Holy Roman Emperor.

After seeing the sights of the city which included many town squares, churches and funny statues, we were heading up a tram to get a bird's eye view of the city. As we were riding up, Herbert told us the tram was built in 2010 and will be taken down in 2022 due to it upsetting the areas view. We took a quick journey up and then back down as our time in Koblenz was limited and we learned that the trains went on strike!!! So our transportation plans from Koblenz to Stuttgart were going to need to change. Before that, it was time to learn a little more about our host state of Rhineland Palatinate's agricultural administration.

After the tram we went to the Chamber of Agriculture for the Federal State of Rhineland Palatinate and learned that they work directly with the farmers as commissioned by the state government. It was a very interesting setup being as some of it was funded through the Ag Ministry (government funds) and private funds through fees. It seemed like some kind of quazi-governmental Some of the programs like testing wine, registering vineyards, and even book-keeping are funded by the Agricultural Ministry while there are many other services they provide such as counselling on crop and livestock production, regulation of land use, and business administration. These later programs are required by the Ag Ministry, but not funded so the Chamber must find a way to fund the program.

After we wrapped up the presentations, we were shown the wine tasting room where they score many of the wines. We even were able to "score" a wine ourself. I would have rated mine very high, but they had already done that. After that it was time to say good-bye, yet again, and move on to our next and final destination. To get there, the four of us, and all of our luggage, squeezed into a fairly small car to motor down the autobahn.

Halfway to Stuttgart we met up with our next host, Ms. Ariane AMSTUTZ. We swapped our luggage out of one car to the other and continued our journey on the very heavily congested autobahn. Upon arriving, behind schedule, we checked into our final hotel (bittersweet) before heading to the Landesbauernverband office for a brief meeting with Mr. Horst WENK, the Deputy General Manager, and then heading to dinner were we discussed the agriculture of the region.

The trip is winding down quickly. We have all learned so much and cherished this adventure of a lifetime. Only three days are left, so we best make the most of them.

Cheers,

Nick

Steeeeep Vineyards and Castles with a Splash of Milk Along the Way

It was another beautiful start to the day. So to this former dry land farmer, that includes the dreary, cloudy, foggy weather we awoke to. Despite the weather, the McCloys were off to an early start again in the Rhineland-Palatinate area. This time to visit a milk processing plant in the area, but, before we could do that, we just had to take a look at some of the vineyards we saw from the boat and discussed the night before.

We were in luck as our guide for the day, Julia, took us up to the top of the valley so we could overlook the area, as well as get our up close look at the vines. These vines are on steep, nay, extremely steep slopes. So steep in fact that all of the work must be done by hand and after almost ending up at the bottom of the hill, I wouldn't be surprised if you had to use a rope and rappel down! Due to all of this being hand labor, most of the vineyards are only around 2-3 hectares. We also learned a random tidbit of information about planting vines and that you must own a "planting right" to plant grape vines and the right is tied to a specific parcel of land. It is just all sorts of crazy.

After snapping a few pictures and taking in the beauty of the valley we had to be off to our main item of the day, touring Hochwald Foods, a milk cooperative and processing facility. The company collects around 1.6 billion liters (422 million gallons for those to our west right now) of milk a year in multiple facilities located in 8 of the 16 German states. They create a variety of products from liquid milk, chocolate milk, powdered milk, condensed milk and yogurt. I actually was able to try some of their yogurt and it could have possibly been the best I have every had. Chobani, you have some work to do...lots of work to do. If there was any other reason for TTIP, which our host supports so his products can access our markets, I can't think of it. After a long tour, we were full of not just milk, but more knowledge about the German milk industry than we ever thought we would know.

Unfortunately, it was time to go so we could get to the next stop of our journey. A simple drive turned into a sightseeing tour, which was an amazing overlook of the Moselle River, and a frantic search for a non-existent McDonald's, which is simply just referred to as "The American Embassy." 

This little detour chewed up some time we didn't have so when we arrived at our next destination, Herbert was chomping at the bit for use to get moving as to not miss the last tour of the castle in English. This lead to a very, very fast drive to the Marksburg Castle. The driving was a little on the scary side, as a former McCloy has already tested to. But he got us there on time to see the only castle in Germany that was never destroyed before, during and after WWII. The castle was amazing and I was extremely glad that we were able to make it in to see it.

Did Meghan find her knight in shining armour?

All in all, it was another great day and we are looking forward to our tour of the city Koblenz in the morning. Until then, Cheers!

Nick

Dairies, Tabacco, Wine and a Boat Ride.

What a busy day! The McCloy's kept up a heck of a pace today visiting 2 dairies (plus one last night), a tobacco farm, a winery and hoping a boat ride on the Moselle River.

In less than 24 hours we had visited 3 different dairies. One owned by our host and former McCloy was in its infancy with under 70 cows. They are working hard to get their dairy heard back up to very high standards and the dairies capacity. The other was a father and son team that had a dairy that milk around 130 cows with robotic milkers. The last was a large (for this area) dairy that milked 300 cows on a robotic carousel, a recent investment of over two million euros.

It was interesting to see the difference in the dairies, their operation, not just within the region of Rhineland-Palatinate, but to compare them with the size and design of the dairies we saw in the former East Germany. Overall, the dairies were smaller in the west. These dairies also had fewer acres to support the cows with as well. Also, it is interesting to compare the longevity of the dairy within the family as many of the eastern dairies are in fairly new ownership due to the collapse of the former East German government. They are also dealing with different problem, the dairies we visited today must contend with an their city neighbors that do not understand our industry at all.

We also saw something that I never expected to see...tobacco. We had the privilege to visit a tobacco farm located in the Wittlich area. Learning about a crop that I had never seen before was absolutely fascinating. Using a mechanical harvester, which they say leads to better quality, they bring the leaves in from the field, dry them for 8 days in a dryer, and then sort and pack them. Not that I know much about tobacco production, but it sounds drastically different that what is done in the USA.  Something else I didn't know about this German tobacco, is it is a very high quality crop that is highly sought over. Who would have thought I was going to see a tobacco farm in the western Germany?

Lastly, we were able to take in the highlight (at least for me) of the day, the viticulture and wine. We took a breathtaking tour on a boat along the Moselle River to see the vineyards along the steep (and I mean STEEP) walls of the Moselle river. Pictures just don't do it justice. To end the day we went to a winery to see grapes being turned into an adult beverage while also having a chance to give their creatoins, a try.

It was an extremely long day that kept us moving. Time to hit the hay so we can keep up this incredible pace.

Cheers,

Nick

Apfelfest!

Today we started the morning out along the Rhine River. It was quite a site for this drylander in a landlocked state. Barges moved freely up and down the river like it was a fluid interstate right along side people getting their daily row in. Incredible.

After seeing the facilities and all of the food and drink they had to offer, it was time to head out to the orchard. It was quite different than any other orchard I have been on. The trees had been trained in a fashion I had never seen. The reason they use this method is due to the need for high production because of a lack of land. They also had tarps over the entire field to protect the apple trees from hail.  Something unique that this orchard did was print stickers that they place on the Apple which bleached out a tattoo, like a smiley face, directly on the apple.

Before we left, we enjoyed the jazz band while sipping on another glass of cider and had a chance encounter with a former Denverite! We chatted for a while before it was time to go. Gordon and Brigitte drove us past the agricultural university in Bonn on our way to lunch, which was Donners! This was a traditional German meal that Turkish immigrants made their own. And they made it very tasty.

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It is now time to hop the train to Wittlich, while we were sad to see Brigitte and Gordon go, we were in for a treat with our next hosts, Christof and Magdalena Zephyr and Julia (Magdalena's sister) where they took us into their home, feed us great German BBQ, tasted schnapps and gave us a tour of their dairy. All after having their first child just two weeks ago!

After dinner it was off to bed as we had yet another full day ahead of us.

Prost!

Nick

Chocolate, Waffles, and TTIP?

It was our final day in Belgium so the McCloy Fellows thought it a requirement that we partake in some well know Belgium culinary items - waffles and chocolate. Guess it was a little early for beer. We started our day out at the Musee Du Cacao Et Du Chocolat. The museum was packed with interesting facts about chocolate and since it is an agricultural product, we felt it was time well spent learning about the chocolate industry. We did learn that the USA needs to step up its chocolate consumption as Germany eats more than double of what we eat.

At the end of our tour, there was a demonstration on how chocolate pralines are made, you know, those tasty little mounds of chocolate that have even more tastiness on the inside? Those were invented in Belguim and the chocolatier made it look much easier than it is. He did a great job showing us how to make pralines and an even better job letting us sample the final product.

After this is was off to grab the other food stuff Belgium is known for, waffles! They were amazing, covered in Belgium Chocolate, fresh fruit and whip cream, we gorged ourselves. The trip to Brussels, while short, was amazing. I have to thank Ludwig, Tiffanie, and Eugen for making sure our stop in Brussles was nothing less than fantastic. It is now time to hop a train, again, back to Germany where we will meet our host from a few days ago, Brigette and Gordon, to see the sights of Aachen.

Aachen is Germany's western most city and for you history lovers, the place where the first Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne, made the HRE's first imperial city. We toured around the city taking in the sites of the Cathedral as well as the King's Hall, built by Charlemagne, and still used for city council meetings today. We also saw the Cathedral's treasury with some amazing items from history.


And I cannot believe it took us two weeks to have this happen, but we ran into a group (Greenpeace) protesting TTIP. One of the guys working the rally made the unfortunate decision to chat with four Americans that support (and are very well briefed from our meeting with the European Commission in Brussels) TTIP and enjoy this kind of thing...yes, we may be a little on the ill side. As the "discussion" ensued, it started to become as we say, heated. Well, the top popped on our new friend when a picture of the action was snapped and he was in it. An even more confrontation came from this and I am not exactly sure what our 6'7" host, Gordon, said to him, but he went along his way. And we still have the picture. Guess he was afraid of the NSA tracking him.


All in all, it was another fantastic day. We left for Bonn for our hotel along the Rhine River. The trip is going sooo fast, yet it seems like we started it ages ago. I know I have learned an immense amount of knowledge and I keep looking forward to learning more. Now it will be on to Wittlich in the Rhineland Palatinate area after an Apple Festival. Lates!

Cheers,

Nick

The Capital of Europe - Part Deux

So the first day in Brussels was jam packed. I don't think we even had time to breathe! Thankfully the bed at the Motel 1 were quite comfy. Even if we didn't get to use them for very long. So with the gusto of a McCloy Fellow, we were off for our second jam packed day in Brussels, learning more about the EU governing body.

The first two meetings of the day were with officials with the European Commission. This is one of the three parts (Parliament, Council of Ministers, and the Commission) that make up the EU government. The commission is actually the body that is responsible for writing proposed legislation. If the legislation is passed, which it can be amended as well, by the Parliament and Council, the Commission is responsible for implementing the new law. Clear as mud? Okay!

The first was Mr. Tim GRUMBEL who is the Assistant to the Deputy Director-General of the Commission's Directorate General Health and Consumers where he focuses on Animal Health and Welfare. During our meeting he went over what his commission is doing in regards to implementing current laws as well as a law that they have in the Parliament right now. Apparently, it takes a while, around 3-5 years, to pass a bill through. And we thought congress was bad. He also explained how the commission writes the rules for laws in a way that allows the member states of the EU to find their own way to comply. Many of the things we are learning are completely changing our paradigm on how government can work.

We next met with Mr. Jean-Marc TRARIEUX, who is in the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. He related what his DG to that of our USDA. Then, he immediately dove into TTIP. I was very interesting to hear the perspective on trade from his point of view and for at least as far as agriculture goes, what the EU is concerned with. One side revolves around process, especially in the processing of our meats. The fact is that both systems, US and EU, produce a high quality, safe and nutritious product in the end. It is just that we take different ways to get to that end product. Even so, it is interesting to start to see the thought process and beliefs that drive some of the differences. He also hammered very hard on geographical indicators, like cheese. While I think we all saw his point about an Italian flag being printed on a bag of cheese misleading consumers to believe that the cheese is from Italy, this really isn't how we view cheese in America. Even so, the ability for a producer of a specialty to differentiate his product is an important feature to European producers.

Next we went to lunch where we met up with a former AFBF employee, Chris Garza! He did great work for AFBF for 15 years in the trade field and he is now over in Brussles working for Kellog's in the government relations area.

Our last meeting of the day was with Dr. Christian PERNHORST, who is one of Germany's representatives to NATO. This was a fascinating meeting to discuss the history of NATO, what it does and the relevance that it has today. There was much discussion on the current NATO topics of the day, ISIS er ISIL er whatever those terrorist want to be called and the situation in Ukraine. All in all, it was outside of our normal areas of expertise and very fun to learn about something new and important because if we (including Europe) can't grow food because of aggressive incursions, many people go hungry.

Brussels Cathedral

Looking down from the hills.

We then took a guided tour around the city to see so many beautiful sights and then we were in for a real treat. One of Tiffanie Stephani's friends was having a party to raise funds for his project to help African farmers in Tanzania. So he threw a pie tasting party to help in this effort. I might mention he was British, so the pies weren't dessert pie, but tasty nonetheless. It was a great night to converse with others from around the globe, many of whom were involved in agriculture as well. What a great night, meeting new people and helping a great cause at the same time. We have had some truly unique experiences here in Germany, and this was definitely one of them. If you want more info about Farm Africa, check it out right here:http://www.farmafrica.org/

McCloys supporting #FarmAfrica

Well, we have half of a day left in Brussels to get our fill of Belgium chocolate, beer and waffles. Tomorrow should be fun!

Cheers,

Nick

Nick, Kristi, Meghan, & Susan in front of King's Palace.

City Hall

The European Parliament