Looking for Noahs Ark on The Farm

"every journey starts with the first step" ; or so they say. So here we go.

This is my first blog, and my first chance to expound on subjects I have Passion for : like Farming.

My first connection with farming was a summer job I landed in 1977. My boss was Dr. Bryan Fraser of Agriculture Canada who, together with colleagues and associates at the Vancouver Research Center and the University of British Columbia, gave me my first glimpse of what was to be a lifetime career in Agricultural research.

I worked for Bryan for 2 summers, counting aphids and watching labybird beetles on alfalfa in order to build predator prey models. In retrospect I suppose it must have been interesting work to have convinced me to continue in the field of crop protection research for for 30+ years.

Since that time I have been working more than 20 crops in +12 countries, and manged to make my way from Canada to Malaysia, where I now do consulting work on development of tropical fruits and vegetables.

But I am intending that this blog will not just be about farming, but rather will also allow me to blah blah about the connection between the farm, and the really awesome natural history of the topics. Its an association that most people don't realize ( and many think the two are conflicting ; as farming often has led to destruction of wildlife habitats), but let me assure you that within the farm there is a whole "Noah's ark" of nature; all trying to stay afloat.

Thinking about it. I guess I have always been a naturalist ( collecting bugs and watching birds since I was 10 years old), and it was this Passion for nature that led me to farming.

Since that time I have added a few more dimensions to my passion: including food (must have), and farm economics ("the business" ; a necessary evil). Let's see how far I can go on this.

More to come.