Yesterday I had the pleasure of touring some of the beautiful state of Texas. My touring adventure took me to southern Fort Worth where we visited Beakley Farms in Waxahachie, Burgundy Beef Boucherie in Grandview, and the Alpha Equine Horse Breeding ranch in Granbury. Due to the weather, some of the tour was toned down but lucked out at the Alpha Equine ranch. Dr. Baker was kind enough to graphically demonstrate the collecting of semen from one of their horses, which was a bit shocking for a city girl like me!
The rain started at Burgundy Beef but were well informed on the all grass feeding of their cows and the complexity of the beef industry. We also sampled some of their meats and cheeses and had to brave the monsoon to make it back to our bus. The last stop on the tour was Beakley Farms, which is a family owned business that features cotton, wheat and sunflowers. We were unfortunately held on the bus for the majority of the time there but got off just long enough to peek at some of the equipment stored in the shed.
The international visitors were very interested in everything we saw, since for many of them it is their first visit to the United States. They had lots of questions for the hosts and were eager to understand the world of American agriculture. Being familiar with American agriculture I still learned a lot and had a wonderful experience learning and meeting new people.
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