Guest Blog

In the deserts of western Iraq, a new development project rises out of the sand. Today, our mission is evaluating the site and writing these comments in the form of a progress report.

The work of reconstruction and development in failing states, like Iraq and Afghanistan, is difficult. The U.S. Government (USG) implements a policy of counterinsurgency; the U.S. military assumes the lead for defense, and in general the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, develop the policy for implementing diplomacy and development, respectfully.

At every dairy conclave this year, the matter of milk protein concentrates (called MPCs) has become a major talking point. MPCs are any type of concentrated milk that contains 40 to 90 percent milk protein. In simple terms, they are manufactured by extracting and drying the protein from raw milk and have been used in the manufacture of numerous products, both dairy and non-dairy.

I am in travel status as of this writing. With increasing frequency, I am drawn to military locations outside Baghdad.

I am a third-generation California dairy farmer married for 26 years to a third-generation dairy farmer. Never have we seen business as bad as it is now, and our loss has been great.

I am off-post for just over two weeks. Our USDA Agricultural Adviser, Jon Melhus and I are working in a southern province as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). Together, we are delivering a soil and irrigation water management course for a group of 17 provincial representatives from three ministries: agriculture, water resources and higher education.