Rodale delights

Arrived in PA USA in the wee small hours arefter the delights of a 3hr delay at Toronto and US Customs......but have a new meaning for a Boeing 737.......(7 passengers, 3 staff, 7 bags) yep sit anywhere, we had the who plane to 7 people plus 3 crew.....how is that sustainable?????
Negotiated the drive from Phildelphia airport to rural Kutztown PA with the help of Helen, my guide on Tom Tom on the iPhone......having just got an iPhone and Tom Tom sat nav on it im converted....

Have spent the day at The Rodale Institute. see http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/

Completley inspirational work going on here. Have been looking at soil and Mychorizal research, at fruit management and at Zero till systems with the crimper roller in action today brolling and crimping rye cover crops and being direct drilled with soy bean,,,,its made my week seeing it in real life!.....also spent an hour with the farm manager looking at bits of 'kit' in the barns and around the farm - farming heaven!!! I have also been looking at mob grazing (see Tom Champan you are converting us all!) and have been discussing Pan-Altantic research and disemination opportunities.

Tomorow looking at the Farming Systems Trials - a 30 yr trial  comparing organic mixed systems with FYM Soy bean/corn : organic stocless with no FYM just cover crops soy bean /corn : Conventional Soy bean/corn rotation. plus now the adition of zero till treatments and adjacent GM crop comparisons.
The Organic systems perform as well if not better physically and economically compared to teh conventional system. Th GM corn/soy rotationwhich has been included to represent 'mainstream farmer practise'  already has roundup resistant 'super weeds' after only 3 yrs resulting in having to use additional stronger herbicides to manage the system

Steel wheels keep on turning - the neighbouring farmer to the institute is a 'steel wheel menonite'...like the Amish the menonites are a relegious community. Horses and carts on the roads but tractors etc ok in the fields...apart from they are not allowed rubber tyres...so all tractors and machinery has steel wheels - watched them cutting lucerne (alfalfa) forage today with a self propelled machine like a swather...with steel wheels????????...part swather part traction engine!!!!....Its a funny old world...