We started off our day going to the China Agricultural University of Beijing where we had a presentation about food product traceability and safety from one of the MBA professors, Dr. Chen. Traceability is the process which tracks food products throughout the supply chain. The steps in the supply chain are similar to those in the United States; for example, the produce starts with a farmer, then upstream suppliers, suppliers, warehouse, consignees, distribution, and lastly the point of sale. We learned that the traceability process has four components.

We have just finished our first day of exploration in China, and what a day it has been! Our journey began with a nonstop 14 hour flight from Chicago to Beijing. We left from Chicago at 7:45pm on Saturday and arrived in Beijing at 11:00pm on Sunday.  We were pretty exhausted after the initial travel, so we promptly went to sleep before the next day.

This year's International Development and Global Nutrition students recently completed their Learning in Community course as a part of their semester abroad at Njala University. Students studying agribusiness worked with the Animal Production Division at Njala, analyzing layer production in the poultry unit. The Global Health and Nutrition program conducted a survey of nutritional profile of mothers and children in the village surrounding the Njala campus.

Rosie is the head of the home science department at Njala University. Anne Kelly (ACE) went to her house to learn how to cook the Sierra Leone way. Anne and I are at Njala University as a part of the University of Illinois’ semester abroad programs. I am studying Global Health and Nutrition and Anne is studying International Development and Agribusiness.

I am studying abroad in Leuven, Belgium at the KU Leuven School here.  I love it out here!  The city is similar to a college campus except for one major difference.  The culture and history here is so rich and beautiful.  All of my classroom's buildings have some of history to them.  Each with their own original purpose dating back to the medieval era and now conformed to a college classroom, just amazing.  A couple courses I am taking over here are Labor Economics and Intro to Management and Strategy.

[ACE 199 Experiential Study Tour to Washington, DC | Spring Break 2014]

[ACE 199 Experiential Study Tour to Washington, DC | Spring Break 2014]

Two current ACE Students, Michael Gill and Doug Yunker, connect with alumnus Michael Dykes, the VP of Government Affairs with Monsanto while in Washington DC this week for ACE 199:  Policy in Washington class.  All three are members of Farmhouse Fraternity.

[ACE 199 Experiential Study Tour to Washington, DC | Spring Break 2014]

[ACE 199 Experiential Study Tour to Washington, DC | Spring Break 2014]

Today was action-packed day #2 in Washington DC! We started off the morning bright and early with an excellent breakfast and presentation provided by CropLife America. It was great to hear from an Illinois alumnus, Jay Vroom, the current President and CEO and his staff. Their communications director spoke to us about their growing social media presence, which our generation can relate to.

[ACE 199 Experiential Study Tour to Washington, DC | Spring Break 2014]

With chattering teeth and white breath, we stepped on the endless Dupont Circle escalator to the bowels of the DC Metro. The Metro scanners seemed foreign to our virgin eyes, but, with help, we prevailed with minor setbacks. The red-line screeched to halt near us--the wind messing our perfectly parted hair.  The angst set deep when confronted with the notion that the people we would be meeting with this week, the leaders in DC, could have the potential to shape our careers in agricultural leadership.