- Posted 07/20/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8380
UMC to Host International Ag Students July 23-29
Twenty-eight college-age students from twelve countries will arrive in Crookston on Sunday, July 23, to participate in a week-long "Agriculture in the Red River Valley" program hosted by the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) and MAST (Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee) International.
MAST International is an agricultural and horticultural exchange program affiliated with the University of Minnesota. The organization arranges terms of practical training and academic experience for hundreds of students each year. The students come from nearly 50 different countries around the world.
MAST participants attending the UMC-hosted session are from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
The "Agriculture in the Red River Valley" experience will combine practical, experiential learning with site visits and academic instruction. The goal is to provide MAST students with a firsthand look at agriculture and agribusiness in the region. The experience will focus on the changing strategies for agricultural profitability, particularly with respect to crop diversification, value-added processing, and international trade.
"These students have been working on farms or businesses in the United States since March. This is their wrap-up experience," says David Hoff, assistant professor of agricultural business at UMC and one of the coordinators of the “Agriculture in the Red River Valley” program.
While at UMC, the MAST participants will attend sessions covering such topics as “Geology and Geography of the Red River Valley”; “The Changing Role of the American Farmer: Producer vs. Supplier”; "International Agriculture – Past and Future"; "Precision Agriculture Applications"; and "Perspectives on International Agriculture in the Red River Valley.” They will also tour selected research projects at the Northwest Research and Outreach Center and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, both located on the campus.
Field trips to farms, food processing plants, and applied research facilities will complement the classroom and lab-based learning. The itinerary includes site visits to a bison ranch near Carrington, North Dakota; a cranberry farm and a wild rice farm near Red Lake; Dahlgren and Company, a sunflower processing plant in Crookston; Excel Dairy of Thief River Falls; and Habstritt Seed Farm near Roseau. The group will also visit North Dakota State University, the Prairie Wetlands Environmental Center in Fergus Falls, and the USDA Human Nutrition Lab in Grand Forks.
A highlight of the week will be a barbecue at the farm home of Bob Bergland, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and current regent of the University of Minnesota.
“Agriculture is becoming increasingly globalized and boundaries have begun to blur. It’s in our best interests to strengthen our ties with other ag producers and segments of the industry and, more importantly, with future world leaders in agriculture,” says Jane Sims, UMC’s director of continuing education. “This program begins to create those kinds of relationships, and the results will only lead to better partnerships.”
Established in 1949, MAST International was one of the first international agriculture exchange programs in the United States. The program is based on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. Over the past three years the program has made connections with UMC and its agriculture programs. This past spring semester UMC hosted four MAST students for the academic part of their experience. This is the second year UMC has hosted a week-long summer term for MAST students.
For more information about the program, contact UMC’s Center for Continuing Education at 218-281-8681, or visit the MAST International website http://www.mast.agri.umn.edu/.