Day 7: It's Tourist Time

Well, as the title suggests, the educational part of the tour ended today. Our last agricultural stop was to Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. This university is pretty much the premiere ag school in Australia, or so we gathered.

After the tour of the university, we hit the road, and made our way north to a place called Sydney. You might have heard of it. We did some souvenir shopping, and then brought out the shiny shoes for a fantastic nighttime dinner cruise in Sydney Harbor. We were able to get great views of the harbor bridge and the opera house, as well and the Sydney skyline.

Tomorrow we take a domestic flight to tropical north Queensland, and the town of Cairns, gateway to the great barrier reef. Lots of excitement is up ahead.

Day 6: Australian Beef Done "Right"

Today was was another interesting day in Australia (nothing new there). Our stops today showed us a different method of beef production in Australia--one that more closely resembles that back home. We started at the Wagga Wagga sale yards, moved on to the Cargill-Teys plant, and concluded with a visit to Jindalee feedlot outside the rural community of Temora.

At the sale yards we were able to see how live cattle are marketed. It's not much different that a sale barn back home, other than the auctioneers are harder to understand.

The Cargill plant was much more "American" than the JBS/Swift plant toured earlier. A lot more grain fed beef is processed, and unlike the JBS plant, it is strictly a beef plant.

The Jindalee feedyard was very similar to a US feedlot. They run about 15,000 head, mainly consisting of angus and angus cross steers, with a few other breeds and a few heifers. They make use of growth implants and grain rations, which was refreshing to see. Until now, everything we've seen and heard has been about grass-fed, hormone free beef.

Well, that about wraps up today's adventures. We're off to Sydney tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Day 5: Sheep, Emus, and Shorthorns

Well, we've reached the halfway point of our trip. Like most things in life, it's going by way too quickly for my liking, but I have no doubt that there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had.

Our day today consisted of 3 stops in total, beginning with a visit to the Trigger Vale seedstock operation. This operation specializes in White Suffolk and Bond Merino sheep. Our host discussed the challenges facing the sheep industry in Australia.

From there we moved on to an emu farm, which proved to be one of the most entertaining visits so far. Our hosts prepared us some steaks on the barbie, which was a refreshing alternative to the set menu items that have been the norm up to today.

Our third and final stop of the day was to Spry's Shorthorn Stud. Following a tour and a presentation about their operation, they prepared us our second steak dinner of the day and provided us with ample refreshments. We finished the evening out by hanging out and retelling our experiences of the trip so far.

Tonight we are in the town of Wagga Wagga, where we will be staying for two nights. Tomorrow we'll visit the Wagga Wagga sale yards and tour a Cargill abattoir. In the mean time, I'm going to get a few winks in. Until tomorrow!

Day 4: Family Friends and New Experiences

Well, g'day mates! If you've stuck with me this long, kudos to you, your attention is appreciated. I am writing this at the end of what has been a day full of unique experience. Allow me to elaborate.

We started out the day by visiting Lawson Angus Ranch, where Harry Lawson gave us an overview of his operation and how they have made use of American genetics in the recent past to facilitate genetic progress in their seedstock herd. I've mentioned before in this blog that our family has been in business with the Lawson's for several years now, which has made this one of my most anticipated stops on this trip. Apart from the presentation, Harry and I had a great conversation about our respective operations and even the potential of me coming back out to tour their various set-ups located throughout Australia. I suppose that will be something to think about in the future!

Harry Lawson discussing the principle his operation is based upon.

Our next stop for the day was a Hereford and sheep operation just about an hour an a half outside the town of Albury. This operation was unlike anything I'd ever seen before (and not necessarily in a good way). After coming straight from Lawson's, who have a very stringent and goal-oriented breeding program, this Hereford operation had nothing of the sort. To put it kindly, this was a very "passive" way of producing cattle. At some point in the discussion, someone within our group touched on the Gardiner influence the Lawson operation. After a bit of discussion, the manager mentioned how "the Gardiner's have a lot to answer for" in regards to the recessive defects traced back to 1680, while unbeknown to him I was standing right there. Our dear chaperon, Scott Schaake, was kind enough to direct him to me for "answers." Regardless of what our host took away from his and my discussion, it was a good experience in dealing with managers who might not fully understand the facts behind genetic recessives.

From there we moved on to our overnight lodging in Albury, New South Wales. After a rather mediocre steak at a local restauarant (see previous entry for definition of "mediocre"), a group of us enjoyed a night out on the town. From there we came back to the hotel, and alas, here I am reporting it all to you.

So, with that, I invite everyone to keep an eye open for my next entry (no telling when that might be). Until next time, this is Grant Gardiner signing out.

Day 3: Packers and Producers

My apologies for the tardiness of this entry. We found ourselves in a small town last night that didn't have enough internet to go around. But, anyway, better late than never.

We woke up to a rainy morning in Melbourne, and after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we set out for the JBS/Swift plant in Brooklyn. We were cautioned not to get into too much detail, but suffice to say, there are some marked differences in the meat packing industry between the US and Australia. For example, the amount of lamb is comparable to the amount of beef processed on a daily basis.

On a side note, I've picked up on a an apparent trend in Australian beef. The normal nice grain-fed, high marbled cuts that we enjoy in the states are nowhere near what is the norm here. Contrarily, grass-fed, hormone free, very lean beef seems to be the consumer desire. There's a conception within the consumer population that all fat is bad and growth implants will cause abortions in pregnant women. The result is low-marbled, very lean, and very small cuts of beef.

But I digress. From the packing plant we headed out to our next stop of the day: Webb Black Simmentals. These guys are black simmental seedstock producer that jumped into the game about 6 years ago. Their presentation was one of the most entertaining that we've seen yet, and they were some of the most hospitable people I've ever met.

That about sums up the day's events. Tomorrow we head out to Lawson Angus Ranch--one of the stops I've been looking forward to the most. Till then, stay classy!

Day 2

Alright, so the internet situation is a little complicated here, so this one's gonna be short and sweet.

Yesterday we listened to a lecture about animal identification from the department of primary industries.

Hit up the largest brewery in Australia. Good time.

Went out and sampled the nightlife in Melbourne to round out the day.

And in the words of the immortal Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

First Entry from Australia (For Real)

After an excruciating day and a half of travels consisting of multiple flights (one lasting 16 hours) we have finally arrived to Australia! Our flight touched down at 8:30 Wednesday morning, and since then, we have been on the go.

After clearing customs, we enjoyed a familiar breakfast consisting of a good ol' sausage McMuffin. It's important to  to avoid culture shock. After breakfast, we set out for the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. The pictures accompanying this entry are actually from Australia (honest). The tour was great and our guide was very entertaining and informative. Right now, my roommate (Wyatt Bechtel) and I are getting ready to meet up with the rest of the group for dinner. I'll save your mind some wear and tear and leave you with some pictures from the animal sanctuary for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

First Pics from Australia

Well, that's not entirely true. But they look convincing don't they? Truth be told, these pictures were actually taken at the Kansas City Zoo.

Last weekend, my girlfriend and I took a day trip over to K.C. to celebrate the end of her first year of Vet school. As a treat for the aspiring veterinarian, we decided to take a trip to the zoo to get a look at some of the more exotic species that don't commonly arrive at the local clinic.


 The accompanying pictures are a taste of what was hanging around in the Australia side of the zoo. Hopefully in the coming weeks there will be more of these types of photos coming in, only truthfully from Australia instead.

The countdown is getting pretty low now. Only one week left until the big trip!