Going Global Update #2

Day 2
The second day of my trip was slower, much to my relief. I was feeling the effects of jet lag and lots of travel and excitement. After a quick orientation with National Young Farmer's Clubs Council and the other exchangees (from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Canada) I travelled from Warwickshire to Boston, Lincolnshire, with the county club chairman, to my next host's home. Lauren gave me a tour of her family's farm, which grows potatoes and onions(mainly) as well as leases out cold storage in the off season - for import crops like sweet potato and butternut squash. We also took a tour to Framptom Marsh, a boggy area along the coast that gaurds the excellent arable land from the sea and is used for grazing. I got to see a few more cattle  which were Belgian Blue and Angus. 

Day 3
Day 3 of my stay was very exciting! Lauren took me up to Huntstanton beach where I got to see the ocean for the first time in my life! It was every bit as breathtaking as I imagined it would be. We walked the shore, collected some beautiful shells then enjoyed a traditional sea side meal... You guessed it... Fish and chips!
After lunch we toured down to Burghley Place (Bur-lee) which is an old mansion and massive estate including gardens, arable land, deer farms, a horse trials area and so much more. The history I am learning about is deep and has been delicately recorded. Below is a photo of me at Burghley House!

Burghley House

That evening we attended the Lincolnshire County YFC's annual general meeting. I was impressed by the quality of the young people involved in this organization as well as the mentors helping to direct the program. The UK farming community can feel confident that their future is in good hands and I look forward to meeting these friends further down the AG trail of life.

Day 4
Onto another neat day of agriculture! Lauren arranged a couple great experiences for me. Her brother is currently working on a custom pea vining crew. They have specialized harvesters that are exclusively for harvesting fresh peas that will be frozen and sent to supermarkets everywhere. 

Neat Facts:
1.The peas must be received at the factory within 2 hours of being harvested so the crew is often waiting on a call from the factory to give them the OK to go.
2.Pea viners harvest at about 3-4km/hr, depending on the crop, and can do about 100ac of peas on a good day.

I had never had the opportunity to learn about fresh pea harvesting, nor had I ever really considered how the y were produced. I will never eat another pea without thinking of Lloyd and the crew!

Unloading the pea viner. When full it will hold about 2T of peas. 

In the afternoon we toured the Bennett potato factory where they purchase, clean, sort and distribute many varieties of potatoes to different markets. I found it very interesting that most potato sorting is still done using 'two eyes and two arms'. With the exception of a size sorting sieve at the start (used only for small potatoes) and weight sorter at the end of on line (not always used) ALL potatoes are sorted by hand.
After the tour it was off to my next host's place near Lincoln, Lincolnshire.