Some of the Crop Quest staff had the chance to spend time in July with three farmers from Scotland; Guy Stirling, John Hair and David Fairlie. They wanted to come to the central US to visit with producers about issues that are common to farmers worldwide.
After coming to the U.S. on the 4th of July and spending a couple of days in Nebraska, they then met up with John Hecht, our Special Projects Manager, and spent three days with him and other Crop Quest staff and customers.
The three Scottish growers said that even though farm size and cropping methods are different in the U.S., there is still a commonality with farmers from any nation, and the issues that they face.
They spent time with farmers in Central Kansas and Western Kansas, as well as touring a feed yard near Ford, KS, and an aerial applicator in the Ulysses, KS area. They were very impressed with the scope and scale of our agriculture.
When asked about the farming practices in this part of the country, David Fairlie said, “The use of technology is much higher here than we see, and the farm size is much larger than we have”.
Though the Scottish farmers grow hay in their country, it’s mostly grass hay. They hadn’t seen alfalfa before, and enjoyed watching some hay being baled in large square bales.
They also visited with a grower in southern Kansas that raised canola, and had the chance to see a few potato fields in the Ulysses, KS area, which are both crops that they produce in Scotland. They were able to visit extensively with these growers about the many differences and similarities in production practices between the two countries, and thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue and sharing of information
We enjoyed getting to spend some time with these growers and hope that they have a chance to come and see us in the U.S. again sometime!
