And we're off!


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A Senior's Farewell to the University of Minnesota

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Completing the Shires, Shorthorns, and Sheep: Exploring Livestock Production Systems in England marked the end of my undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota. Leaving for England two short days after my college graduation seemed to be a little daunting, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was worth it and a GREAT way to end my collegiate career! The highlights of my trip to England included visiting farms, such as Wimpole and Native Beef, to see how they are working to preserve the genetics of England's heritage breeds, seeing the racing industry in Newmarket, and experiencing several markets in London. Growing up in production agriculture has given me personal experiences with raising beef, sheep and crops, such as corn, soybeans, and alfalfa. I enjoyed observing the similarities and differences between agriculture in the United States and the United Kingdom. Heritage breed preservation seemed to be important to several of the farms we visited, and I di...
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Who Cut the Cheese At Borough Market????

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Borough Market first began in 1014 AD near the current location of London Bridge as a means of selling vegetables to the community. The market was not managed well, so in 1755 the city petitioned Parliament to relieve them of managing the continually growing market. In 1756, the Borough Market Act was passed, which gave Southwark Cathedral permission to move the market to its current location. Today, these little piggies went to market (to shop)! It wasn't too busy when we first arrived, but as the morning carried on the market filled up very quickly. Vendors were set up everywhere, selling goods ranging from Ethiopian cuisine to goat milk ice cream to zebra and camel meat! With recommendation by Beth, we began by browsing through the market. We saw a variety of cultural foods, aged cheeses, bread, meat cuts, tea... the list goes on and on. At this market stall, they were selling and giving samples of unique cheeses. The cheese on the left consists of m...
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Life Is Better At The Races!

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On day 4 of our trip (May 17th)  in Cambridge, we visited National Stud and had a night at the race track to bet on the beautiful thoroughbreds in Newmarket. Our day started at the Warren Hill or the heath, this is where we got to see the grooms/exercise riders galloping their horses in front of the trainers. They do this at 6 am to get the exercising done early rather than later to stay out of the afternoon heat. All horses must be off the heath by 1 pm and then it is open to the public.  National stud was our next stop and we first visited the foaling unit. Here the "heavy", which means pregnant, mares are put in a paddock and checked as often as possible. Once the mare shows signs of foaling they are moved into their individual stables to wait for the arrival of their baby. Mare and foal are then moved to their designated paddocks where they are accompanied by several other mare and foal pairs until they are at an even number or u...
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