Today's blog was written by grower Dean Levitt from Walkaway.
The smog in Beijing is like a constant haze and I woke up this morning coughing like a smoker.
Travel day today, and after the recent Malaysian airlines incident I think the group will give our plane a thorough check over before boarding!
On the way to the airport we discuss the local economy with Wallace, our host from CBH Hong Kong, but I think that just the sheer size of things here and the numbers feel out of proportion because we have nothing similar to compare to.
After surviving the trip to the airport in the bus we think our chances on the plane feel a lot better - except for the gaffer tape holding the aircraft door shut!!
After arriving in Guangzhou we have a whole new array of drivers to contend with who thing they must have a chance with the F1!
Our bags go straight to our rooms and off we go on the underground. Top quality transport. With only three ladies in the group, they still manage to get us all to go shopping with them - and they can shop!
We have dinner in Guangzhou's number one banquet restaurant with a friend of CBH, Joe, who is the now retired GM of a malting company called Supertime, which we will visit tomorrow.
Joe is a wealth of knowledge - he talks to us throughout the dinner about China's farmers. It seems they have high inputs per hectare, around 2,000 RMB ($360 AUD), with large yields with very low quality.
There is also no real breeding programs in place for Barley and wheat there is a guaranteed floor price.
A lot of China's irrigated farm land is in the lower rainfall areas in the north of the country, which averages less than 15 inches.
It was also interesting to hear that the country imports the equivalent amount of grain wasted on farm from poor storage or transportation issues.
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