Released: October 20, 2009           e-Mail the story

Trip is Open to Those Interested in International Agribusiness 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State University’s Master of Agribusiness (MAB) program is offering travel to the “land down under” to learn about the food and agriculture industry in the Oceania region.

 

The trip will include stops in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown, New Zealand and Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane, Australia. The tour is scheduled for April 16 – May 1, 2010 and is open to anyone with an interest in international agribusiness. Close to 30 individuals have committed to joining the group, but there is space for a few more.

 

The tour includes stops at cattle, deer and sheep farms, dairies, fruit and vegetable farms, grain and cotton farms, as well as, agricultural and food related industries.

 

Participants will have the opportunity to spend time with a local farm family during an overnight farm stay in Australia. Time will also be set aside for sightseeing.

 

Allen Featherstone, agricultural economics professor and director of K-State’s MAB program, said he believes the study tour “offers a great opportunity for North American decision-makers in food and agriculture to look at major competitors in grains, beef and dairy, as well as a differing view on government subsidies and cooperatives.”

 

“New Zealand is unique because of the country’s decision to eliminate government support programs for agriculture; this has lead to innovation by the country’s agricultural producers, often through cooperative enterprises,” Featherstone said. “Australia offers a diversity of agricultural enterprises anywhere from beef and wheat production to subtropical agricultural production of fruits and vegetables.”

 

Previous international trips hosted by the MAB program have been to South America, Russia, and Southeast Asia.

 

“I enjoyed the MAB agricultural tour of Southeast Asia—I especially enjoyed the mix of farms and industry-related tours, getting off the beaten path, yet seeing all of the tourist destinations. I personally feel this travel opportunity strengthens my own education about food and agribusiness management as it pertains to the global aspects abroad, yet provides cultural insights into our increasing diverse populations here at home. I know the trip to Australia and New Zealand will provide the same opportunity and am looking forward to it,” said Leslie Svacina, communications director of the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, based in St. Paul, Minn.

 

K-State’s Master of Agribusiness is an award-winning, distance-education degree program that focuses on food and agribusiness management. Students and alumni work in every sector of the food and agribusiness industry and are located in more than 35 states within the United States and in 25 countries.

More information about the trip can be found at http://mab.ksu.edu/Alumni/ANZ.html or by contacting Mary Bowen at 785-532-4435, mjbowen@ksu.edu.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Mary Bowen
mjbowen@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

Mary Bowen – 785-532-4435 or mjbowen@ksu.edu