Vineyard Operations

It is probably a little-known fact that the Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (DAIL) of Ghazni Province is working with the USDA and USAID in expanding grape production in the province.  These grapes are dried after ripening to make extremely sweet and high-quality raisins. 

In order to support this joint effort, the Agriculture team of TX ADT 5 visited Madison Vineyard in Madison, Illinois to learn about commercial grape production.  Steve Palmer, the owner of Madison Vineyard, gave a personal tour and taught the Agriculture team as much as he could in just a few hours.  He covered topics such as: species of grapes that grow in different pH soils, temperature and moisture requirements, how to prune throughout the season as well as during the winter, the lifecycle and production expectations of a grape vine, pests, diseases and seasonal labor requirements.

The Agriculture team learned an incredible amount from Steve and is better prepared to deploy to Afghanistan due to his time with us.  We thank him for the time he took out of his busy schedule to help TX ADT 5 and the people of Afghanistan.

Ag Team learns about starting a new stand of grapes.

CPT Grubb and SGM Muckleroy study a mature stand

Unripe white grapes