tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53961525021136076812024-02-20T03:05:41.673-07:002011 McCloy Fellowship on AgricultureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-74791418017314042462011-10-17T13:22:00.000-06:002011-10-18T06:58:23.185-06:00Things I miss from Germany<div>Been home a few days now, but I started this blog post on the way home. Here are a few of the things I'll miss.<br />
<ol><li>German breakfast - yeah I missed American breakfast at first, but I'm really missing the great spread of meats, cheeses and breads every morning.</li>
<li>The autobahn - there's nothing quite like a country that as a principle has no speed limit; there's also nothing like going 210 klicks in a minivan.</li>
<li>Pulling into a town that has a castle; or an eight hundred year old church.</li>
<li>The bread, it is absolutely amazing.</li>
<li>Authentic German food - the variety of pork, sausages and cured meats was a treat as well as the cabbage and potato dishes.</li>
<li>The beer and schnappes - their beer is heartier than ours and tasting the schnappes is truely an experience I won't soon forget. </li>
<li>The sights, history and traditions of this great old country. </li>
<li>The agriculture - this was more eye opening to me; I was expecting much smaller farms (granted we we're in the larger farming regions of Germany); we noted several times that there was as much difference between our group (Ohio, Oregon and Colorado) as there was between the U.S. and Germany.</li>
<li>The German people, we always felt welcome in their country; and most Germans spoke English very well. </li>
<li>My new friends - it was a pleasure traveling with such a great group, Tracy, Shane and Katherine. We always found a way to have fun and had some great discussions along the way.</li>
</ol></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-59103694430695600422011-10-14T14:23:00.001-06:002011-10-14T14:23:12.618-06:00Day 20 - Friday, October 14<div><p>The last day of farm tours took us first to a farm that grows sugar beets as well as seed for other farmers.  They have 205 hectacres (62 ha sugar beets, 103 ha winter wheat, 21 ha winter barley, 13 ha summer barley and 6 ha set aside).  Their sugar beet production is much larger than other farms in the area that are typically 10 hectacres.  They farm about 100 km from the sugar beet processing plant and have a unique system for harvesting.  They share a harvester that is owned by the processor, with 40 other farmers.  Their "turn" to harvest is determined in the the spring so they know exactly when they will be harvesting beets.  The farm is located inside the city limits of Frankfurt Main; it is all rented land from foundations that had been established centuries ago;  the family is the 6th generation on the land.  They produce seed for coopeatives to sell to other farmers and own all of the equipment for storing, cleaning and procesing all of the seed on their property.  We did a quick walk to one of the fields that had mustard which is used as a cover crop to reduce nematodes on ground that will be sown to sugar beets next year.  <br>
They noted that they have a concern with urban growth being so close to a large metropolitian city;  but the concern is not with houses, its with the regulations.  For example, the airport needs to expand an additional runway, in order for it to grow the airport must also have a biological offset for the amount of land used for the runway.  To complicate matters worse the city of Frankfurt has determined that the biological offset must be in Frankfurt, so the by default farm land ends up being taken out of production.<br>
We then were hosted at Rentenbank, a agricultural lender similar to our Farm Credit banks.  They were established by law in the late 40s to promote agribusiness and rural areas.  The basis for the bank's capital was constibutions paid by the German ag and forestry secotr between 1949 and 1958.  Today they are the premier ag lending agency of Germany; they now raise funds globally and distribute them locally.  The bank is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which then allows them to issue global bonds internationally.  Their loans focus on four key areas: agriculture, aquaculture & fisheries, agribusiness and renewable energies.  An underlying loan category in all these areas is innovation.  They believe stongly in their farmers ideas and use the innovation loans to help move agriculture forward.  <br>
They have a unique way they distribute their loans.  Rather than having individual banking locations and a staff of loan officers, they utilize their local banks and allow them to write the loans for a commission.  This allows the local bank to provide farmers access to low intrest loans and does not put them into a competitive arena with a home bank.  Last year they made a net profit of 11.8 million €, half was distributed to a special purpose fund that promoted innovation loans and the other half was put toward a promotional fund that supports individual projects as well as institutions working for the ag sector and rural areas.<br>
We spent the afternoon in Frankfurt walking the city and toured the Goethe House that was the family residence of the Goethe family, most notably Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, until 1795. Goethe is one of the most popular poets of Germany writing The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) as well as laying the foundations for his celebrated interpretation of Faust. <br>
We ended the evening in a cider pub enjoying a traditional krautwickel, pork wrapped in a cabbage leaf that is cooked and served with a bacon sauce, and trying some apfelwein a traditional German cider well known in Frankfurt.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-63060540957117296432011-10-14T13:34:00.001-06:002011-10-14T14:32:38.927-06:00Day 20 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YmRVP8KZoX4/TpicJNOt4wI/AAAAAAAAB80/X8gWKrdm5oA/IMG_4200.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AnjMygHNhS0/TpicK0biNiI/AAAAAAAAB88/exmzOepnjiw/IMG_4207.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pa8sXFvSPXo/TpicLyIH4LI/AAAAAAAAB9E/mSXhCZMJ40Q/1318624045-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RBrYBXK7j0M/TpicN2lm3MI/AAAAAAAAB9M/Fi2m70LEdGo/IMG_4247.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JPlSmZT9Lwg/TpicP-q2dNI/AAAAAAAAB9U/pB9rScjF-AE/IMG_4203.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tnARX0oCrMw/TpicR55umsI/AAAAAAAAB9c/4jNanMwgdBg/IMG_4186.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JnP64QhUMMk/TpicTmzIiWI/AAAAAAAAB9k/t8n_3255Kic/IMG_4199.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ln0CFw7O_K8/TpicVQm07gI/AAAAAAAAB9s/Xg4hmucduaU/IMG_4241.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rvWElWb-WHc/TpicXaBzIrI/AAAAAAAAB90/5BHADUj85sw/IMG_4233.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PQguI15VF8E/TpicZUwPM-I/AAAAAAAAB98/FRa_EC5KIt4/IMG_4221.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-35384381188272216812011-10-13T14:17:00.001-06:002011-10-13T22:56:14.565-06:00Day 19 - Thursday, October 13<div><p>We began the morning by visiting only the second pig farm on the trip, we found this a little amusing because when you're in a country that eats as much pork as the Germans you think you might see a few more hog operations.  This farm was another family operation that was well diversified in different ag ventures.  They had 100 sows and 350 feeder pigs; the sows are only in crates for a short time prior to farrowing and until the pigs are weaned.  Other than that they are group housed and have access to the outside; this was a law that was passed by the EU.  In the mid 90s, hog prices were at a low, the family decided one way to improve their prices was to begin direct marketing.  So, they opened a sausage shop, that included an on farm slaughter and processing facility.  They sell a wide varitey of home made and smoked meats, sausages and wurst; and slaughter a few head a week, selling about 10% directly to consumers.  They operate under the same EU standards as a larger processor.  In addition to the meats, they also sell locally grown foods, wines, potatoes, jams, pastas and breads.<br>
They also are part of a partnership with two other farmers, sharing equipment on their farm ground.  The family has 240 hectacres spread over 85 fields, with the largest being 20 hectacres.  In the past, land was divided over and over between heirs, this created separate plots of land.  More recently there has been a movement to consolidate these lands, but it takes cooperation with the local community.  They grow silage, barley, wheat and potatoes. The partnership is also shared with a biogas plant that uses slurry from the pigs and another farmer's cattle as well as silage and straw.<br>
Following our tour we enjoyed samples of their products, one that tasted very reminiscent of the German sausage my family makes in Iowa.<br>
We stopped briefly in the city of Bad Nauheim, so we could see the home that Elvis lived in when he was stationed in Germany during the war.  We also found a memorial at another location where he had stayed.  This made Tracy very happy as she is a big Elvis fan.<br>
We then traveled north to meet with their forest service.  The forest is important in Germany historically, it provided wood, lumber, charcoal, mushrooms,fruits and the orignal means for raising pigs.  Today 30% of Germany is forest (the state of Hessen is 42%), while 200 years ago over use had the forest down to only 10%.  Today they have what they call permanent forests, no clear cutting wood, they use a thinning process to harvest trees from the forest.  In Hessen 85% of the forest is public owned with 15% held privately; last year they harvested and marketed 120,000 cubic meters for about 7-8 million €.  This provides about 85% of the forest budget.  The trees are used for: 40% saw mills, 40% paper, industrial and pressed board, and, 20% firewood.  The trees are tradionally beech forests, today they are 40% beech, 60% spruce and pine wood.  The service is planting more trees from warmer cliamates in fear and preparation of climate change.<br>
We talked some about renewable energy because the Hessen government has required that wind power first be put on forest lands to shield the wind towers from view. We learned about a complicated system that I'm trying to find more information about.  It takes approximately half a hectacre for a windmill, this must be compensated by planting new forest or buying ecopoints.  An ecopoint, is a forest conversion formula that rates ecological values in the point system. i.e. Because of the volume of wood removed, if you clear cut a half acre for a windmill, you may need to plant 2 acres to equate the volume of young trees with the number of old. It sounded like a system that would routinely eat usable arable land.  I found it odd that a wind turbine did not have an equal ecopoint system because it should offset the use of carbon based fuel.<br>
We ended the day walking around Marburg, an old university city and the first protestant university and a site where Martin Luther and others in the reformation began. We walked up a very steep hill on shaky cobblestone; we walked so high up the hill, you could swear you we a little closer to heaven.  We dined that evening in Marburg and celebrated our fellow McCloy, Katherine's birthday.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-37209853076140586002011-10-13T14:03:00.001-06:002011-10-13T15:03:35.373-06:00Day 19 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-dN_Ogrdz1Pc/TpdRYhLfRWI/AAAAAAAAB7M/CAGWFCXj1EE/1318539131-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kl96fDwPC0M/TpdRZqWuMNI/AAAAAAAAB7U/7E-hWwTWBl4/1318539122-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TiL36vbucZU/TpdRbS6wDnI/AAAAAAAAB7c/tT3KJRmsMxo/IMG_4017.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4vbprcfxAd0/TpdQw71G1kI/AAAAAAAAB7E/kkyl8WKEW3s/IMG_4005.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MyJEJU9sTXI/TpdRd0v7IBI/AAAAAAAAB7k/mNomBleMClA/IMG_4080.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2PzPqRWTo1c/TpdRgVZiW3I/AAAAAAAAB7s/A7s-t_DD3tM/IMG_4107.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-muXkCbJ5EYg/TpdRic2QMBI/AAAAAAAAB70/IH1ZKAedw-Q/IMG_4041.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-RGOSsYhqaug/TpdRk1B3MTI/AAAAAAAAB78/mzVT1SzDG8g/IMG_4061.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-uIgo6SmD7r8/TpdRnI6nMtI/AAAAAAAAB8E/pJzeZaamjG0/IMG_4062.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xtB6Ir51FI8/TpdRpiKXDRI/AAAAAAAAB8M/Hq5P4jLZN4E/IMG_4122.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yuomvlASANc/TpdRs1S_qEI/AAAAAAAAB8U/FdP6iEgI42s/IMG_4075.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-od3lv4ftnVk/TpdRtXI3jVI/AAAAAAAAB8c/Yd11GTcIVyw/1318539102-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-mIwBO1nnaqU/TpdRucGMoJI/AAAAAAAAB8k/ddOrsSVxv1w/1318539111-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yN5PLYFkM2w/TpdRwclsAkI/AAAAAAAAB8s/TRV4fPhN02Q/IMG_4028.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-69027166020534715862011-10-12T13:21:00.001-06:002011-10-12T14:31:45.038-06:00Day 18 - Wednesday, October 12<div><p>We began this morning with a tour of the Hessischer Landtag, the Hessen capitol building.  It was a fantastic tour in a building mixed with old architecture and new.  My words can't do justice to describe the pictures below. <br>
The parliament meets in a round chamber with the "left wing" parties sitting on the left, to the more "right wing" parties on the right.  It is also a porportional parliament, so the largest party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP).  Their system is quite facinating, but its somewhat of a graduate-college level math problem to understand.  We met with Klaus Dietz a member of the parliament and someone who is on their ag committee.  He grew up on a very small diary farms 30 kilometers away.  In Hessen there are many specialized farms; 60% of the agricultural income from is from dairy production followed by pigs, wheat and oilseeds.  There are five regions in Hessen that specialize in grain farming, wines, wheat in the northern fertile soils, wood forests to the south, grasslands, dairy farms and some arable land with corn.  <br>
Mr. Dietz felt that farmers are more conservative in nature and vote for the CDU about 80% of the time because the CDU believes in personal responsibility and the entrepreneurial spirit.  There are 118 members in parliament, five are farmers.<br>
We talked extensively about agriculture and focused on a couple of the topics of the day: energy and the environment.  He noted that like the consumer who thinks chocolate milk comes from a brown cow, most consumers think electricity just comes from the wall and at the peak of concern with Fukushima, Germany was nearing their elections.  That is why the state parliament moved so quickly to ban nuclear energy. This is forcing energy production from biogas, solar and wind, which have guaranteed prices set by the government. Agriculture is key, especially looking toward the future of wood based biomass from fast growing poplar trees and forest trimmings.  He noted that Germany will also need more wind energy; the last time wind energy was pushed there were guaranteed investment loans and price support from the government, today there are only price guarantees, but no additional investment from government.  He said that this is being paid by consumers and their prices are rising as well as industrial costs for manufacturing.<br>
We also talked about animal welfare and the challenges of fighting special interests groups who are trying to change agriculture back to 1960's style production.  He noted that the EU announced a cage ban for hens in 2001 that would phase out cages by 2008; Germany banned cages immdeiately and is enforcing the law, however the EU ban is not in force yet in other countries and in many circumstances cages are moving from Germany to other EU countries, which is creating an unlevel playing field. <br>
Finally we talked about the state challenges of farm subsidies; payments are split 50% EU, 30% federal and 20% state. The state is in charge of the control system for farmers to receive payments.  Last year there were 226 million Euro in direct EU payments to Hessen farmers. He said that the payments fit into two boxes direct patients and environmental subsidies; more and more efforts are being pushed toward the environmental areas.  He said his concern is that their country has had 66 years without war, the older generation know it but the young don't appreciate where we've come from.  We need agriculture to have sustainable food production, to suceed as a country they must find solutions at the table and not on the battlefield. <br>
After lunch we drove to the Abbey Eberbach, a former monastery known for its impressive Romanesqueand early Gothic buildings and is considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites in Hesse, Germany. Additionally, the abbey is known for its outstanding wine production that gave the monks the ability to build other monasteries across Europe.  We toured the buildings and had a wine tasting of local Rieslings.<br>
Then we traveled to a horse boarding facility that was very unique.  The family farms about 250 total hectacres, but has a boarding facility that encompases 19 of those hectacres with barns, riding arenas and horse pastures.  They board about 30 horses but do not have individual stalls, they work on a group system where the horses run together in large paddocks that are rotationally grazed.  Additionally, each horse is microchipped for animal identification.  They use this ID to trigger and automatic grain system that feeds each horse a precise daily ration.  The horse facility is engineered to optimize the exercise for the horses requiring them to visit the feeder in one area, stable in another, pasture in another and water in yet another area.  We got into some conversations with some of the boarders at the stable.  They said they selected this stable because it allowed their horses to get exercise whether they could ride them or not.  We ended the day with a light meal with the family that gave us some time to tell about our farms and ranches in the U.S.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-37693036651869371392011-10-12T13:20:00.003-06:002011-10-12T14:51:53.016-06:00Day 18 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LdNgTeq8qHE/TpX71q4oZEI/AAAAAAAAB5c/ZWeiF6z9zu0/IMG_3880.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-D22vaZkF1HQ/TpX8ofjks7I/AAAAAAAAB5s/HMY094srfnM/IMG_3891.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-l2QOuogEclM/TpX95Lmuz3I/AAAAAAAAB60/EbQs-0-kOaw/1318452513-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3eyIStBr0y8/TpX8uFXO8WI/AAAAAAAAB6E/jzDOoxDkjNw/IMG_3920.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-phQo2699NFE/TpX7yG3fOlI/AAAAAAAAB5M/Fx8LWUZuhQo/IMG_3864.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NunBUSZ90ns/TpX738f8PZI/AAAAAAAAB5k/b3S5U2IpKXk/IMG_3877.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fD9W4Ywl_wE/TpX7v9ePk5I/AAAAAAAAB5E/ZqJEYOvvN2o/IMG_3878.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gratQspi6Xk/TpX9PWPXYXI/AAAAAAAAB6M/dGqNFB5IIzM/IMG_3970.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oOHuGsJuqj4/TpX9TvG0irI/AAAAAAAAB6c/u2PgBx7xOsE/IMG_3967.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-oKx6y5zlxnY/TpX8r1ZjBRI/AAAAAAAAB58/5_pC69mpSOk/IMG_3941.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vD8N_O1GEZA/TpX7thBW0fI/AAAAAAAAB48/eN8czgKckDo/1318451946-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-maDolJSTFLM/TpX951uBGjI/AAAAAAAAB68/MQQPUUkw8Q0/1318452502-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gPPdcLAbteU/TpX9VBH_QjI/AAAAAAAAB6k/TWWQ652relI/IMG_3995.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hNisNaMdV2U/TpX7yykjAGI/AAAAAAAAB5U/o6f_hl26ujg/1318451929-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MD8HvQkUaiI/TpX9W9rF4SI/AAAAAAAAB6s/IVFErhfwZRM/IMG_3986.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-75985045200889034902011-10-11T13:08:00.005-06:002011-10-11T13:14:29.503-06:00Day 17 - Tuesday, October 11<div><p>We started at MUH (get it? German Moo...) a farmer owned dairy cooperative founded in 1967.  The cooperative consists of 2,600 farmers in a 250 km radius; they get milk from the five countries of Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg.  The company employes 770 employees and specializes in longlife milk products that are essentially sterilized.  They recieve over 1,150 million kg of milk from their farmers.  They produce a large number of products, 85% are private labels (i.e. King Soopers branded milk), with the remaining 15% branded as MUH.  Their market is 50% UHT (Ultra  high temperature milk), 17% evaporated milk, 15% cream and 8% flavored milk.</p>
<p>We then traveled two hours to the Landwirtschaftskammer Rhineland-Pfalz.  It is a difficult organization to explain, but is essentially a quasi-governmental organization that is run by a board of 80 farmers to provide educatin on services.  They are like our department of agriculture, check-off programs, marketing orders, department of health and extension all rolled into one organization.  Members must pay a (tax) per acreage fee, so everyone is required to belong, then a board is elected from district representation and industry intrests.  They provide education, landuse planning, inspeciton of wines, vines and plantings.  They have promotional programs and recognition programs for their best wines.  They also provide classes in food preparation, food safety, economics, assitance with on-farm food certification and assisting with banding small tracts of land into better utilized ground.  They have a group that provides weekly market reports for inputs and commodities that is available to all farmers.  Many of the services are provided to the landowners for free, however some services are added for a fee.<br>
We the took the train to Frankfurt for the final leg of our trip.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-47438223011327227112011-10-11T13:08:00.003-06:002011-10-11T13:44:05.764-06:00Day 17 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ptCyyl9Muoc/TpSchOWAegI/AAAAAAAAB40/ahsWYZibB7Y/MUH_LOGO.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JrmROb6YdUI/TpScDGCKbTI/AAAAAAAAB4s/ACLm_8HhqI0/IMG_3832.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-39901149934302327982011-10-11T13:08:00.001-06:002011-10-11T13:14:15.820-06:00Day 16 - Monday, October 10<div><p>We started the day trying to get the van (aka the cracker box) to go over 180 klick/hour on the autobahn, it only happened going down hill.  We traveled to a goat farm that milks 240 mother goats to mainly produce cheese. The family farm began milking cows; in 1996 they were faced with a decision to build a larger dairy barn and milk more cows or switch to the goats and focused on cheese.  They switched the small 3 x 3 milking parlor to accomodate 20 goats at a time and are not marketing to an organic standard because of the cost.  The family raises their goats to produce high quality, not necessicarily high quantity milk and will milk their goats for 5-7 years.  Milk goats are seasonal breeders, fortunately this matches up nicely with the market for their cheeses, which is from the spring to the fall when restaurants and tourists are most active.<br>
They produce three types and 20 different kinds of fresh, soft and hard cheese (13 fresh, 8 soft and 2 hard cheeses).  It takes 6 liters of goat milk to produce one kilo of fresh cheese, (8.5L - soft, 13L - hard).  30% of the cheese is sold on farm, with 20% direct to restaurants and 50% to distributors.  Their main problem is getting rid of the males and cull females.  They are trying to develop their own market for the meat by working with a local butcher to make pate and dried sausages; they are also making a specialty canned meat.<br>
After that we traveled to Bitburger brewery, a family owned brewery that was founded in 1817; the current CEO is the 7th generation to work at the brewery.  They are the 2nd largest German beer maker (in terms of output), but are first in draught beer on tap with 50,000 restaurants serving their product.  They employ 1,000 people at their five different breweries that produce many different beers.  They are considered a premium beer priced at 12 € per case.  They have to compete against the other national premium brands and cheap beer that doesn't market (6€/case).  Bitburger makes 400 million liters sales annually, which is approximately 250 million gallons.  90% of their beer is sold in Germany with 10% exported to the EU and worldwide.  They are branching into many new product categories, including lower alcohol beers and mixed-beers (i.e. Beer and cola).  They actively use social media and are on Facebook. They find this has been a good marketing tool gleaning 40,000 fans in just one year.  They have one staff member responsible for social marketing and are targeting younger people.  They also market heavily by sponsoring the German national soccer team. <br>
In Germany annual consumption of beer is 110 liters and consumption is declining.  Consumers are citing health concerns as well as crack-down on driving alcohol limits and loss of market share to wine, champagne and mixed drinks.  In Germany there are 1,300 breweries in Germany, 600 in Bavaria. They have to abide by the Bavarian purity law of 1516, that limits them to using only the pure ingredients of barley (plus yeast), hops and water.</p>
<p>In the afternoon we visited the family farm of our host Arno Billen at Kaschenbach.  Arno is a 6th generation, in a village of approzimately 65 people.  He farms 250 hectacres, has a dairy, distillery, biogas plant, solar farm and ag tourism.  They are a family operation with his father, uncle, cousin and brother all working on the farm.  They have grassland, grow wheat and barley as well as silage for the cattle and biogas plant.  His uncle is in charge of the farming operation, his father is in the state parliament, his cousin runs the dairy and his brother runs the distillery.  Arno is in charge of the biogas plant, solar farm and a facility they rent for parties and schnappes tastings.  The 120 cow dairy also includes 140 heifers and beef cattle, the cattle are milked by two milk-robots; they are getting 3.3 milking per day, average yield of 34 L per cow with an annual yeild of 10,500 L per cow.<br>
In 2000 they added a 110 kw biogas plant and expaned an additional 190 kw in 2004 (300 kw total); it takes 125 hectares of silage to feed the biogas plant. They average between 40-55 ton per hectacre silage. To feed the plant each day it takes, 12,000 kg silage, 1500 kg grass silage and 10,000 kg of manure.  The solar collectors were added in 2009, the kilowatt peak is 249 kw; last year they had 980 hours of peak kilowatt output.  The solar price is under a 20 year contract with the expenses paid off in 10 years.  The farmers who produce renewable energy are paid a flat rate to produce energy of €.40/kw for solar, €.20 for biogas and €.15 for wind energies. Because of the German governments recent restriction on nuclear power they are looking at potential sites for wind energy next.<br>
The schnappes distillery utilizes 320 fruit trees, mostly older trees that are wild growing on the farm.  They have many, many different flavors including old apple, raspberry, cherry, William pear and pear.  It is nothing like the schnappes we have in America.  Arno's brother makes nearly 4,000 bottles per year.  The family also has an old barn that they've renovated for parties, receptions and entertaining.  It has a tasting room to compliment the distillery. When they first opened the barn in 2007 they had 20 groups utilize it, last year 60 groups rented the barn and they've already held over 60 groups this year.  <br>
Arno and his girlfriend Simone hosted us for dinner of wild pork and some schnappes tasting.  It was delicious.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-59659524558840871512011-10-11T13:07:00.000-06:002011-10-11T13:45:21.327-06:00Day 16 Pictures<div><br />
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After that we went to the Federal Horticulture Show (BUGA).  The show is a stunnig bouquet of colors, shapes and horitcultural masterpieces.  We were impressed by the size of the show as well as the overwhelming attendance of visitors.  The show is taking place on three sites covering a total of 48 hectares at the Electoral Palace, the Blumenhof courtyard and Ehrenbreitstein fortress.  The Rhineland Farmer's and Winegrowers association also has sponsored several exhibits in the show, one showcasing the extensive number of crops that are used for renewable energy production. The show runs for approximately one more week and will see more than two million visitors. In the long-term the gardens that have been established will permanently enhance the appeal of Koblenz. <br>
We ended the evening with another delicious home-cooked meal at the home of Dr. Derstappen.  His wife and daughter graciously hosted us to a meal of pork, noodles, gratin potatoes and tomato and mozarella salad.  It was a delcectable night of food and wine and we are very grateful.</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-61362293293069626962011-10-09T14:59:00.001-06:002011-10-09T15:28:43.014-06:00Day 15 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-RMrrM2N3cKM/TpIR53y67DI/AAAAAAAAB24/qWtY3rHMBgA/IMG_3734.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yxf_Y5msfp4/TpIR7r66TDI/AAAAAAAAB28/ueQVzNAjapo/IMG_3732.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nGk8SjecPaA/TpIR-Ceu_zI/AAAAAAAAB3A/lVf5nSavQjY/IMG_3747.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-a4LMQkoExyA/TpIR_8ewRVI/AAAAAAAAB3E/l-7vBfc6ooE/IMG_3735.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PYPkFRV7p0A/TpISCHP4xwI/AAAAAAAAB3I/VCAJu7bVcag/IMG_3749.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-27030112602371032252011-10-08T14:46:00.001-06:002011-10-08T23:58:23.730-06:00Day 14 - Saturday, October 8<div><p>We started the day going to RWZ, a implement dealer who is the third largest cooperative in Germany.  They are a very diversified company that does everything from selling tractors and combines, to retail of feed and machinery parts to suppling everything you'd need to start a vineyard or small garden.  They are one of the largest employers in Rhineland with 2,600 employees.  Over 70,000 farmers and vineyards epend on RWZ for products, services and repairs. The company is very diversified with 9% in machinery and repair, 13% in potatoe production, 21% in energy products and logistics and 19% cereal crops. They trade products and services through all Europe and Russia.  RWZ has three animal feed production stations in Rhineland that mixes 2 million tons annually, they can supply all needs for vineyards and 70% of the vineyards (15,000) are serviced by them.<br>
They have two growing markets, a retail garden supply are and the energy sector, they supply oil, fuel and chipped wood for burning, which is a growing sector of the energy market.<br>
They are responsible for 60% of the tractor business in sales, service and repairs, 200 € million annually.  The main brands they sell are Fendt, Claas and Massey Ferguson which in terms of the German tractor market is: 25% Fendt, 16% Deere, 10% Claas tractors and 5% Massey Ferguson.  The combine market share is 47% Claas, 16.9% Deere, 9.8% NH and 8% Fendt. <br>
The tractors have larger tires than you'd typically see in the U.S. and buy law can only be up to 3 meters wide, if they are 3 to 3.5 meters wide they must have warning car escort while on the road and if over 3.5 meters they must be escorted by the police.<br>
We then visited the Genn family's diversified farm with 100 head of bulls, 125 hectacres of farmland and several small business that service the local horse owners.  Their bull raising facility would be similar to our feedlots, however they feed bulls rather than steers.  They are on a yield system, growing Limousin and Piedmontese cattle, selling them to three local butchers.  Mr. Genn has two sons who are currently studying and wish to return to the farm.  This past year they have begun construction on a new barn to increase their beef production.  They showed us the passport system for animal ID and the certifications required to transport livestock to the butchers they supply with beef.  They are very proud of their farm and that it is a family operation.<br>
We then did some sightseeing at Eltz Castle, a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. The Castle of Eltz is one of a few castles that have never been destroyed banks of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate.  We toured the castle getting to see the treasure rooms, gold and armory.<br>
Finally, we went to the Franzen vineyard along the Moselle river.  The vineyard is known as the “steepest vineyard in Europe" with a slope of 65 degrees.  We were shown the difficult task for the winemakers to cultivate the vines in such an area and ran into the Moselle area wine queen.  We also got to try the fruits of their labor with a wine tasting of the various white wines the family produces.  They invited us for a light dinner of meats, cheeses, bread and fruit with the outstanding wine.  </p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-72822816166001822742011-10-08T14:45:00.000-06:002011-10-09T00:00:15.456-06:00Day 14 Pictures<div><br />
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The farmers association is political lobby for the state's agriculture and also offers services such as legal, social and insurance counseling. They are similar in volunteer governance to CFB with a state president, two vice presidents and 6 additional members on what they consider and Executive Committee. The structure is replicated through the county, district and community levels. The association has 21,000 farmers; 11,000 active and 10,000 retired.<br />
In Schleswig-Holstein 63% of total land is agricultural use with most arable land cultivated for wheat and canola, 32% grasslands. They raise 9.5 ton/ha of wheat and 4.68 ton/ha of rapseed (rapeseed, canola). In SH there are 1.1 million cattle, many are dairy cattle; and while numbers are declining milk production is increasing.<br />
The association and its members feel the difference is becoming greater between farms and cities who do not understand modern agriculture. They feel that most consumers want a vision of agriculture of past times. They are also concerned about the emotionallevel of politics in SH and German; such as phasing out nuclear power when people are afraid after the tsunami at Fukushima, Japan. They would like to fight emotional politics with real information and feel people will see the importance of agriculture and being self-sufficient over the long term.<br />
We then toured the Kiel Canal Railway Bridge; the bridge is over the Kiel Canal which was first built in 1887. The canal was dedicated by Kaiser Wilhelm II and upon the dedication, he named it after his grandfather Kaiser Wilhelm, which cause great controversy as the canal had been named and referred to during contstruction as the Kiel canal. Following WWII the name Kiel Canal was brought back and that is how its referred to today. The bridge was constructed in 1913, is about 4.5 kilometers in total (295 m bridge). Because of the closeness of the Renssburg train station a special loop in the track had to be built to lead up to the bridge that is 42 meters above the canal. There are 3.2 million rivets and 240,000 square meters of space that is painted.<br />
We stoped by the post office to mail some packages home and left the Rendsburg train station in the early afternoon. We will travel through Hamburg, change trains in Cologne and arrive in Koblenz at 8:12 this evening. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-51127668704625587522011-10-08T04:00:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:26:29.204-06:00Day 13 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bWrbKJ0Yyms/TpCxT36SFzI/AAAAAAAAB1c/ICXo72rM2cE/IMG_3666.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tfcxAmOgOi8/TpCx9Cwte4I/AAAAAAAAB1o/i2KyD4SnHW8/1318105414-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-cF_6xj5i5WE/TpCxXwzLHjI/AAAAAAAAB1k/GyFl2l8Knz4/IMG_3653.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-5567814923433699192011-10-08T03:36:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:13:10.093-06:00Day 12 - Thursday, October 6<div>We started the day traveling through rush hour traffic to Hamburg, there we we're visiting an office of Alfred C. Toepfer International a commodities trading and logistics company. The company was started 1919 in Hamburg, with the first branch in New York in 1929. Today they are world wide with 36 offices and 2,100 employees; 900 in the worldwide office, 300 in Hamburg and 1,200 at silos and elevators.<br />
They trade all forms of commodities from corn and wheat to feed peas and tapioca. Their newest trading category is the energy sector where they are involved in the trading of CO2 certificates as well as the trading and transport of wood pellets, canola (rapseed), coal and electricity. They are the largest trader of wood pellets in Canada and the EU. <br />
The company is owned 80% by ADM and 20% by InVivo a French cooperative. They see that policy and political power are driving markets more and more. Especially with markets in the Ukraine and Russia, who will accept imports one year and block them the next.<br />
As a company that relies on statics to set prices and make decisions on investments, they closely follow the USDA reports and were concerned to hear that USDA may be cutting budgets by reducing staff in statistical areas as well as the census bureau.<br />
After that we did a tour of the Hamburg harbor that is Germany's "gateway to the world." It is the second busiest port in Europe and the eleventh busiest in the world. It was impressive to see the enromous ships loading and unloading cargo thoughout the port. <br />
We then traveled to the farm of Mr. Werner Schwarz, President of the Schleswig-Holstein farmers organization since 2008. He raised 500 sows on 450 hectacres of land on a farm that traced back to 1100s. He is raising raising replacement females for the PIC company and also finishes the males and cull animals. On the cropland they grow mainly wheat, barley and canola, with some oats. Half of the wheat is for the pigs and half is sold on the market. All of the barley is used for the pigs. Because of the moisture, grain must be dried as there is too much during harvest. He has formed a partnership with another farmer where they crop over 1000 hectacres total. They formed the partnership to consolidate machinery and costs as well as do some of the custom farming. For his pig operation, soybean meal is imported from Brazil.<br />
Mr. Schwarz took us for a short walking tour of the historic village of Lubeck. Lubeck hs many historic churches and buildings as well as a rich history. The village was attacked by both the Germans and English in WWII; Hitler had a personal dislike for the city as they would not let him campain there in 1936? During the war, an American General, who had traveled to Lubeck and seen its historic buildings, stepped in and insisted that Lubeck be spared. Many buildings are made of a special dark green brick, only found in the area. We visted the Holstein gate which was connected to a wall that surrounded the city. The city was traditionally a trading post for salt traders to store and sell salt. Because the city was surrounded by water from the rivers and has a large barrier wall it was very defensible against attack.<br />
After the tour we were invited to Mr. Schwarz's home for a traditional German meal of roasted pork, small cabbage (brussel sprouts), potatoes and green beans. We visited for a while about politics, farming and shared stories from the U.S. We also drank a little schnappes. We felt very fortunate to have been invited into their home and appreciate the memories we will take home with us.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-66707212652874969252011-10-08T03:00:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:22:51.160-06:00Day 12 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Y_tMZxmXz0E/TpCw2toZK_I/AAAAAAAAB0s/stgJo05JhPk/IMG_3641.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-YETwViRBG0Q/TpCw3k9mIPI/AAAAAAAAB0w/aGxBRtoWg6g/1318104976-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-VqW9rIEJwAk/TpCw4-4XGoI/AAAAAAAAB00/iz_fI9ci31M/IMG_3633.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BtaCzojXems/TpCw5MIcrPI/AAAAAAAAB04/jUOps2Q0Qpk/1318105049-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Ka9pv8nZkSs/TpCw7Cc7rhI/AAAAAAAAB08/LPM0q3C6_t4/IMG_3629.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1ad45tYJw4s/TpCw8ry1VgI/AAAAAAAAB1A/jMmBdGNZCj8/IMG_3628.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hubl05UESrQ/TpCw-jVOUhI/AAAAAAAAB1E/yN8HzqZpgBk/IMG_3646.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OiOGLC7rBqg/TpCxADrzb-I/AAAAAAAAB1I/x7CI0DiwZUI/IMG_3642.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3bt6K09-nLY/TpCxCKaWwMI/AAAAAAAAB1M/vkIRgGTjUyY/IMG_3618.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2Ut3WPlbt0o/TpCxCWPikqI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/JKXhjdM8yX4/Toepfer_International_logo.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-VdxU5P944nk/TpCxES-QkVI/AAAAAAAAB1U/iCZEEkb1oVk/IMG_3624.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pTYGhA5ttmA/TpCxGamRP1I/AAAAAAAAB1Y/vb95TZmBAww/IMG_3619.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-19801392484013107702011-10-08T02:30:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:11:19.825-06:00Day 11 - Wednesday, October 5<div>The word of the day is 'knicks', but not like the basketball team; spelled the same but pronounced kuh-nicks, these are raised areas like a terrace between fields that is a feature unique to Schleswig-Holstein. The hedge rows were started by the Danish king to separate land. The 45,000 kilometers of knick must be maintained by clearing every 10 years, this is often used for firewood. You can only find these features north of Hamburg.<br />
Our first stop of the day was to visit the farm of Dr. Jan Bielfeldt, a Limousin breeder who started in 1987. Jan was not there, but we met with his uncles, who help him care for the cattle. They raise about 43 headof cows and heifers, including 26 mother cows and three bulls. A bull they are very proud of is Effeil, a polled bull purchased from France. They have imported embryos from Canada and sell cattle throughout Germany, export to Switzerland, France, Poland and Denmark. Their primary market is other Limousin breeders,but they sell some to commercial herds. The Bielfeldts show cattle across Germany and sell either though te exhibitions or directly off the farm; the recently held their production sale. They have raised and owned many champions and will be going to a another show soon. The herd priority is to produce consistent, heavily muscled cattle, that are polled, with good dispositions. It is also becoming important for them to find outcross genetics and make international contacts.<br />
Finally we did some agricultural sightseeing, taking a boat ride out to an island tour off the coast in the North Sea. There we saw terpen, that are island hills that homes and barns are built upon to protect from the sea during a storm. The terpens are man made hills of sand and shells. The island we visited was 550 hectares, on this we saw farmers raising cattle, sheep and horses as well as a group who give historical tours for tourists. On this island live 110 people, there are 700 rooms for visitors including 350 hotel rooms, hostel and a camp site. The farmers dig canals to help drain the water from the island.<br />
On our way back to the mainland we passed a shrimp boat that was harvesting North Sea shrimp, a small (up to 2 inches) delicacy. The shippers cook their catch on the boat, then truck it to north Africa where women pick off the shells by hand, then reimported to Europe. <br />
After our evening dinner, we had a small window of time to get some laundry done at the 24 hour wash center, hitting the hay about 12:30.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-9388744151297388182011-10-08T02:00:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:12:00.871-06:00Day 11 Pictures<div><br />
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<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2GTKSUAdcpE/TpCrQXA22GI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/tqvvg5PhOz0/1317832081-picsay.png" /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-37757912921434266472011-10-08T01:30:00.000-06:002011-10-08T14:10:10.678-06:00Day 10 - Tuesday, October 4<div>Our guide through Schleswig-Holstein is Lennart Blunk who works for the Bauernverband Shleswig-Holstein E.V. (BVSH), which is another of the state associations, similar to the role CFB plays. We started our visit to Shleswig-Holstein (SH) by visiting a slaughter house owned by the 100 year old company Danish Crown (DC). As the name implies they are owned in Denmark and are located throughout the EU, their largest division is pork. The plant we were visiting was their beef slaughter house, which is the smaller division of the company with only one cattle plant. The facility we were at was built in 1964, but bought by DC in 1997 after the previous owners bankruptcy. They slaughter 100,000 cattle and 60,000 sheep annually and are deboning 140 tons of meat per day in a single 12 hour shift. They are cutting to sub primals which go to supermarkets distributors and restaurants.<br />
They slaughter everything from dairy cows which are past their milking to young bulls, the makeup is 70% cows to 30% bulls. Much of the product is exported to Denmark to further sell worldwide, 30% is sold in Germany and 20% directly into Italy, Spain, Russia and Greece. <br />
In addition to several accreditations, USDA and McDonalds each audit the plant for import standards to the U.S. as well as the standards McDonald's has deemed important. As in any packing facility hygienic standards are most important and many of the hygine systems are automated. Most of the employees who work as deboners are Romanian and are paid on carcass yield which is why the cattle are often slaughtered one day and deboned within the next two days. As we toured the plant, we saw their electronic grading system which is used as a standard against the meat grader, similar to a USDA grade their grading system is EUROP, with E being the highest grade and P the lowesst. Most impressive was the entrance handling facilities to the knock box. It is impressively designed with a lot of time an effort being put into cattle and sheep comfort and quietness of operation. There is little noise and the cattle willing moved forward through the system. <br />
Next we visited a small cheese processor who just had some New Yorkers visit that wanted to replicate a model of the plant outside of New York City. The dairy is a farmer cooperative with 34 farmers delivering 50,000-60,000 kilos of milk a day within a 10 mile radius of the factory. They make 28 specialty cheeses that are known for their natural flavor which comes from the caves beneath the factory. The cheese ripens in 4-6 weeks and is marketed as a branded product, under the name 'Gut Von Holstein' of Farmed from Holstein that is a parent label with seven other daries. They sell the tilsiter style cheese directly to grocery stores and have been behind in production so they are looking at expanding their ripening caves. They only make cheese from cows milk, with is all pasteurized and none is sourced from organic farms. They felt that the organic market was not their customers, who are typically older and are looking for their stronger tasting cheese. They sell their cheese wholsale for 6€ per kilo (most cheese is 3€) , it is sold at retail for 12-15€. Our tour ended with an opportunity to taste some of their wonderful product, which makes you realize immediately why they are so popular.<br />
Finally we toured a 500 cow dairy that is new facility built six years ago. The construction had a lot of North American influence, as did the cow herd. They milk on a 50 cow carousel (rotating) milking parlor, which is similar to one the owner saw in southwest Iowa. They are a breeder of black and red holsteins and have built their genetics through importing U.S. and Canadian embryos and embryo transfer of the offspring. He has sold bulls for semen and raised the current number two bull in Germany. The dairy also has a biogas plant that uses manure and some silage. The plant is basically a larger version of a cow's rumen, however it burns the methane produced to create 9.2 megawatts of electricity per day. It is truely a loop system, the biogas needs cows for the manure, which decreased the smell through the methane digestion process and produces a high value nutrient to return to the land and grow more silage. The biogas plant can run off just silage, but the owner feels that is a waste and biogas should be produced in a loop utilizing manure first. He believes his system is better because all the manure can be used and it doesn't require as much silage and straw to "feed" the digester. The dairy also uses its water efficiently. The methane burner heats water which heats the biogas digester and supplies hot water to the dairy, the dairy also exchanges the heat of the milk to warm water it uses for cleaning. It is a very complete system. He would like to expand his dairy and has plans to add additional barns as well as build his home on the property. We couldn't help but notice that the facility was also setup in a way that would be very accomodating for guests and visitors. He feels he must communicate with his neighbors and customers. Transparency creates trust.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-34896274679115408212011-10-08T01:00:00.000-06:002011-10-09T01:35:16.748-06:00Day 10 Pictures<div><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-vGFcySXQ_90/TpCqmv6ekkI/AAAAAAAABzs/N6TkPO21w_g/IMG_3521.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hvbMmfoU4xg/TpCqoJhPBcI/AAAAAAAABzw/d9VRGycJZKI/IMG_3526.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-IE9m6HikAeA/TpCqp2DxA3I/AAAAAAAABz0/LbUwbfKRNK4/IMG_3540.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CqjrQ3MN4_E/TpCqr0FSitI/AAAAAAAABz4/m22eljnZeQI/IMG_3542.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-4pAYZseCvxE/TpCqsnT-aSI/AAAAAAAABz8/nqQGGSEHZNM/1317832002-picsay.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Pe_w1Lrx3Fk/TpCquqd3xOI/AAAAAAAAB0A/BhQyF1wef0s/IMG_3548.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh6.ggpht.com/-YuGJuLWnn10/TpCqwZMAi7I/AAAAAAAAB0E/j2zKTlk1cpU/IMG_3556.png' /><br/><img src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yMWS-eUp510/TpCqyMtqVsI/AAAAAAAAB0I/uG0mqoEdKeY/IMG_3499.png' /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10746996033483618942noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396152502113607681.post-79584122619014388452011-10-08T00:35:00.001-06:002011-10-08T00:36:41.280-06:00Day 9 - Monday, October 3<div><p>We were met by Udo, our guide for the day, at 9 am. Today is Unity Day, a national holiday across Germany.  Unity day is celebrated today to commemorate the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.  Unity day is not on November 9 (the day the wall came down) because that is also the anniversary of the day the first large-scale Nazi programs were launched against the Jews.<br>
We started by strolling though an East Berlin Jewish neighborhood on our way to the Berlin Wall Memorial. The memorial was very moving; learning about its construction and renovation over the years of the GDR.  136 people were known to be killed at the wall, including 42 children and teenagers.  Eight soldiers were shot, some trying to escape others were just accidents.  The memorial was at a site where the wall went through a cemetary and a church.  Many of those in the cemetary were moved, however it is not known if graves of those who died in the war were relocated.  The church was in East Belin, but its parishoners (approximately 90% of the congregation) were predominantly from the west.  The ruling party in the east never liked the church and it was eventually demolished.  A new structure has been built on its site.  The line between east and west also included many homes that were also destroyed to make room for the wall.  When the newest wall was built, there was a well lit zone with no vegitation that was known as the Death Strip.  We found out that the walls looked very familiar to us because they were 4 meter high walls for corn silage.<br>
After that we walked to the Minister's Garden, which is normally not opened to the public.  However, as today is a national holiday, they have a huge festival in all of the buildings.  The Minister's Garden is the location for local headquarters of the 16 German states.  The German states are represented in another house of parliment and serve a purpose similar to our senate.  Each building had beautiful architecture and featured booths with food and drink from their native states.<br>
Following that we walked through the holocaust memorial; it is a heart wrenching experience to learn the tormented history of the Jewish people under Hitler's rule.  Above the information center are 2,711 cement pillars that you can walk through which makes it a truely breathtaking site.<br>
In the afternoon we had kaffee and kuchen and hopped on a train to Hamburg and then to Rendsburg.</p>
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