Tom's Travels

From New York I flew down to Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday and Friday I attended and made a presentation at a conference on rural entrepreneurship sponsored by RUPRI and the USDA.

On Sunday morning I flew from Boise to New York, and then took a cab up to the Pocantico Conference Center in Tarrytown, New York. Pocantico was originally the home of John D. Rockefeller, and his heirs, including Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. The Rockefellers donated the estate to the State of New York, which created a state park and then leased the site of the conference center back to the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation to operate it. The mansion and stable have been converted into meeting rooms, sleeping rooms, and a museum, which along with the gardens and hiking trails make a sort of retreat atmosphere.

I met with a small group of people representing a variety of rural stakeholders. We discussed the need for change in the next Farm Bill and developed strategies for achieving this. The conference lasted two and half days, at which point I flew to Washington to attend a conference on rural entrepreneurship.

I was supposed to go to an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, but because Jill was scheduled to start chemo next week I decided to go out to Boise for a few days. We had a very nice visit. We even had time to hunt one geocache.

From Nebraska City, I drove to Kansas City and flew to Washington DC. On Friday morning I, with three colleagues, met with staff people for two Senators and others interested in our ideas about the 2007 Farm Bill. We met all morning and then flew back to Kansas City in the evening.

Each fall, members of the Rural Policy Research Institute teams meet at the Lied Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The Lied Center is a beautiful conference center on the grounds of the National Arbor Day Farm. The Arbor Day Farm is an enducational center with nature trails, tree houses, and a golf course. I drove up on Tuesday morning for meetings of the RUPRI Board of Directors. The strategic planning session was held on Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday evening I drove to Kansas City and flew to Washington DC for meetings.