Kansas students interested in agriculture are encouraged to apply for exchange program in Taiwan

Oct 30, 2015

Program runs from December 7th to 11th, 2015

The application window is open for students with an interest in agriculture to apply for a chance to travel to Taiwan in December as part of the Taiwan Agricultural Youth Exchange Program.

Three students will be hosted by the National Taichung Agricultural Senior High School and given the opportunity to explore agricultural facilities and agribusinesses in addition to experiencing Taiwanese agriculture.

“The Taiwan Youth Exchange Program provides an opportunity for Kansas youth to experience agriculture on a global platform. Agriculture contributes nearly $63 billion to the Kansas economy, equaling approximately 43 percent of the state’s economy,” said Kerry Wefald, Agriculture Marketing Director for the Kansas Department of Agriculture in a release. “It is important that our students understand that many commodities grown and harvested in their home communities contribute to fulfilling free trade orders with countries like Taiwan.”

Exports to Taiwan are also an important part of the industry’s success and in 2014, Kansas exported more than $100 million in agricultural products. Sought after products include beef, oil seeds, cereal grains and wheat flour.

Interested applicants must apply by Wednesday, November 4^th, 2015 and must meet the following criteria:

Have a valid passport
Currently be a high school senior or college freshman and 18 years old by the December 7^th departure date
Have a background in Kansas agriculture
Be willing to pay for some airfare and meal expenses (approximately $1000)

Applicants are also encouraged to include a resume, letter of introduction, reference letter and a 500-word essay explaining their agricultural background and career goals.

In 2013, Taiwan’s total agricultural production totaled nearly $16 billion US. The top commodity of the year was rice as more than 270,000 hectares of land produced $1.2 billion worth of rice.

Join the discussion and tell us if you’re interested in travelling to Taiwan to learn about the country’s agricultural practices.

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.