Discovering Ireland: A Journey of Culture and Agriculture
By Karl Wiggers
This Week in Louisiana Agriculture
We’ve landed in Ireland, and the first thing I can say with confidence is: it is, in fact, very green and very gray. It’s like someone took the saturation slider on the landscape and cranked it all the way up and did the opposite for the skies.
Josh Meeks and I touched down a couple days ago to begin our trip with Louisiana 4-H students to explore the land of castles and cattle depending heavily on coffee. We were invited to participate in this trip around 18 months ago and are so excited to finally be here in Dublin.
I’m fortunate to have him with me on this trip. This is not his first time to Ireland and not his first time to drive on the wrong side of the road. More on that later.
So far, we’ve walked a pretty good distance around the city and along the coast where we got some great views and footage of this lighthouse and quite a few birds. We have also consumed quite a bit of coffee from our new local favorite, Boom Coffee Roasters. On that note, there are an insane number of coffee shops and cafés here and I love it.
We’re going to bring a wealth of stories back for TWILA from this trip that will probably be enough to fill 3 or 4 weeks. In them, we’ll be documenting the experience for the students, parents, and 4-H agents from Louisiana.
Today, we’ll join up with half of the group of Louisiana 4-H students—jet-lagged, wide-eyed, and carrying backpacks and enough excitement to get them through the exhaustion. Today is technically day two of a ten-day agricultural and cultural exchange that, if all goes well, will leave us all a little smarter, more curious, and probably wetter. (Rain gear was not optional. I repeat: not optional.)
For most of the students, this is their first time outside the United States. There’s a certain look a person gets when they realize the exit signs are in two languages, the power outlets don’t match their charger, and they accidentally ordered sparkling water instead of still. It’s a beautiful kind of confusion.
My first experience on a trip like this was when I travelled with my LSU Ag Leadership Class to Thailand and Japan in early-2020. I had the same experience many of these students have today, and on the other side of my trip, I know the value these students will go home with. Trying new foods, learning new language (even just a greeting), and being a little bit uncomfortable in a new environment are all part of a trip like this, and it will serve these students well as they return to Louisiana in a few days.
We’re here to see how agriculture works in a completely different part of the world. Ireland’s small farms, mild climate, and grass-based systems are going to be a stark contrast to what our students are used to—especially those who grew up around sugarcane, crawfish, or row crops back home. Even participants who have livestock back home will have a new experience here. And that’s the point. We didn’t come here to see more of what we already know.
What I’m most looking forward to is watching these students process it all—not just the farms, but the people, the customs, the food, the different pace of life.
That different pace also includes driving on the wrong side of the road and sitting in the wrong seat to drive the small rental car Josh and I have. I’ve been the passenger so far as we’ve traveled around Dublin and just outside of the city to shoot video ahead of the rest of the group arriving today. Unsettling is the word that comes to mind. I’m sure it will crank up when I finally get the nerve to get behind the wheel, maybe when we make our way out of the city. We’ll see.
Over the next week and a half, we’ll cover a lot of ground—literally and figuratively. From Irish potato fields to historic sites, from cows to castles to cliffs, we’ll be soaking in as much of Ireland as we can. The weather app shows 10 days of clouds and a couple of those with showers, which I’ve already learned is Irish for “don't leave your rain jacket in your suitcase.”
I have a feeling this trip will be more than a checklist of sights and stops. I think it’s going to challenge us all. Open our minds. Maybe even shift a few perspectives. And that’s what makes all the planning, fundraising, and suitcase Tetris worth it.
We’re just getting started, but so far, I’d say we’re off to a solid start—somewhat sleep-deprived, slightly uncomfortable, but fully present.
These next couple of days will include some guided tours of Dublin sights around the Temple Bar district and Grafton Street, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and we’ll finish with what our itinerary says is “an Irish Folklore Evening.”
This is where Josh would insert a Taylor Swift commentary. I’m just hoping there’s some authentic Irish music included!