History, Golf and Sheep

Today got off to a start with a morning full of history that both Scots and Yanks could enjoy. At the Andrew Carnegie museum and birthplace, the curators have decided to focus on the man behind the millions, rather than the vast amounts of money that he made with his empire. From his family history in the textile business to his incredible philanthropic works, a comprehensive timeline of this Scottish-American was given, and his mark left on the world was displayed with fantastic visuals and great hands on activities the whole family can enjoy.


Next was a trek to the ancient town of St. Andrews, famous for its university, which served as the meeting place for William and Kate. More so than that, it is famous for housing the worlds oldest golf course, which also has several other modern -and cheaper- courses for golf enthusiasts to make a pilgrimage to. The surrounding beach was also a nice break from all the brick and asphalt, though the cold temperature and light rain made it feel less than tropical.

At this stop the greens keeper for this hallowed ground was met. He explained his tasks, experiences, and background. He also provided insight into the various pathogens that the grass faces, including anthracnose, Fusarium spp., and insect pests including leatherbacks.

Kinaldy farm was next, and after being herded into sheep trailers we were transported in Land Rovers around various sheep grazing fields and given demonstrations on how young sheep dogs gain experience. Various breeds were described and insight into the delicate sheep market was lamented by the farmers, who went on to show the group their innovative lamb operation.


On the way home, a rest room stop was made in a small coastal town with plenty of opportunities for ice cream, coffee, and lovely sites of boats and closely huddled seaside  homes.

The day was rounded off with a stop to a small Cuban shop to get a lamb wrap. A pint with some fish and chips was desired, but drunken kilt clad Scots were spilling out of the doors of every pub in crawling distance, so the small hole-in-the-wall Latin joint was a runner up to help cure the lamb cravings caused by the previous farm tours. Come morning we’ll see if the whisky can stave off the inevitable food poisoning.

-Caleb Mathias

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Day three is in the books!

We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. Our first stop of the day was at SRUC – Scotland’s Rural College. The college is very similar to a Land Grant University in the United States and reminded me of Ohio State. There we learned about the programs that SRUC offers and a little bit about Scotland’s educational system. One thing that I found interesting was that Scotland is just now starting to see a disconnected public from agriculture. So, the college is trying to do more educational outreach to educated the public and children about where their food is coming from.
Then, we headed off to Roslin Institute Building. The institute is famous for the first animal cloned by a somatic cell otherwise known as Dolly the Sheep. Andy Peters, former Head of International Relations, had a presentation for us about the animal research that the institute is conducting currently. Their big project right now is researching the plasma in blood samples of pregnant cows to find out if the cow is pregnant as early as 8 days. At the institute they also served us a lunch consisting of sandwiches and desserts.
Next stop was Easter Howgate Farm a research center very close to Roslin Institute. There we saw lots of limousine cattle that were on different feed/test trials. They also had a few Holsteins, a Belgian blue, and some mixes. Most of the cattle were fed a mix of silage, dark grains, and barley. One of the more interesting tests being conduced was on measuring the amount of methane that the cattle produces. We also got to go into their sheep barn where they housed lots of bottle lambs.
Lastly, we went to Eastside Farm in Penicuik. This was my favorite stop of the day! The farm is set on 1230 hectares and has hundreds of Scottish Blackface sheep roaming the Pentland Hills. Alister Cowan is the farm owner and talked to us about what its like to run a hill sheep farm in Scotland. The farm has been in the family since the 1850s. The sheep were originally used for wool and now are all used for the meat industry. Alister doesn’t have to pay a feed bill because the sheep survive by grazing on the hillside. He also had his own windmill which provides electricity for his house and wood burner for his heating. I thought his lifestyle was fascinating and simple. Plus the views from his house were incredible!
Then we headed back to Edinburgh for the night where everyone was free to explore as they please!
Kaitlyn Evans

 

Our First Full Day

Our morning started with us flying thousands of miles above the Atlantic Ocean, and believe me when I say we couldn’t wait to reach Scotland and begin our adventure!
After leaving the airport, we started at the Scottish Farmer in Glasgow. This is one of Scotland’s only two agricultural magazines, which is very different from in the U.S. While at the Scottish Farmer we spoke with the editors, learned about the history of the magazine and of the history of Scottish agriculture, and even discussed where the editor saw Scotland’s farm community and the Scottish Farmer going.
From the Scottish Farmer we headed to Edinburgh, where we ate lunch at a tradition Scottish restaurant. Many of us even tried haggis for the first time; it’s an acquired taste…
The rest of the day was spent touring and exploring Edinburgh. One interesting thing our

tour guide told us is that Edinburgh has the reputation of having four seasons in one day. We should feel right at home because this sounds just like Ohio!

Edinburgh also gets about 12 thousand visitors a day, which is crazy! The entire country of Scotland has half a million people, and yet the city of London has 8 million people.
While on our tour, we learned about the Royal Mile and much of Edinburgh’s fascinating heritage. Learning about the Scottish flag and the kilt were two of these things.
At the end of the day, our group especially enjoyed getting to know each other better while learning about all of Edinburgh’s amazing architectural structures. This is a beautiful city and we can’t wait to see more of it!

– – Kat Sharp

Join us!

Join us on our journey of the U.K. as we explore agriculture, culture and the media! Each day a new student will share what they are experiencing on the trip through words, images and video.

  • Dr. Buck