Class XV Returns

By Bobby Soileau, Ph.D., LSU AgLeadership Class XV Coordinator

The final day of our international trips are challenging. Everyone is tired and ready to go home, yet we have more visits scheduled. 

So, we forged ahead as we traveled north of Lisbon on Friday to the fishing community of Peniche. There we toured the Nigel fish processing facility located on the Atlantic Ocean. The company processes frozen fish products for a number of European countries. 

After a relaxing lunch and a beautiful view in this coastal city, we returned to Lisbon for a brief city tour. Later we completed our evening with a farewell dinner. It was an opportunity for each of us to share our experiences one final time during our trip. It was also an opportunity to think about what we have seen and learned the past two weeks. 

A number of those comments will surface through the great work of Avery Davidson and Neil Melancon with This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. I hope everyone will take the time to get a better glimpse of what we witnessed in Spain and Portugal. 

After a brief night’s rest, we gathered early to depart for home. I’m writing this during a long delay in Newark, New Jersey. But everyone is glad to be back in the U.S. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to experience seven of these trips with our program. It is a great learning experience about the agriculture and culture in another country. We get to see what our advantages and disadvantages are from an agricultural perspective. We have a better concept of the agricultural challenges in these countries and the European Union in general. 

I want to thank Class XV for making this a great experience. They have maintained the excellence of our program. I expect they will greatly impact on Louisiana agriculture with their leadership. 

I will end with a comment about my dear departed friend Mike Danna. He started these trip blogs many years ago.Three years ago he told me about his terminal cancer diagnosis. During that conversation he wanted me to know that he will always be with us on our trips. A number of days ago I was walking through the main square of the city of Córdoba with Neil Melancon. He pointed at a sign which said Danna – Tarot and Meditation Courses. His spirit lives on with Ag Leadership.