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ALABAMA CROSSES ANOTHER MILESTONE IN HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP 

AUBURN, APRIL 7, 2000---Two international tours scheduled for the summer will mark another milestone in a long-standing partnership between Alabama farmers and
agricultural leaders and their counterparts in three former communist countries. 

Two agricultural study tours to former communist Central Europe are planned for June and August. The first tour, in Hungary and former East Germany, is scheduled for June
21–July 6. The second tour, planned for August 17–29, is in Germany and Poland. 

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Auburn University College of Agriculture have maintained a cooperative relationship with counterparts in several former
communist Central European countries for most of the past decade, says George Young, the Extension agricultural economist who coordinates the tours. 

As he sees it, the tours provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to "witness a revolution firsthand." 

"What’s taking place in Central Europe truly is a ‘revolution’ as farmers abandon the old communist command system and adjust to a market-driven economy within a global context," he says. "A lot of Alabama farmers and other interested people can gain a lot
from seeing how these producers face up to the changes and adapt." 

In addition to visiting with farmers, study tour participants will meet with government agricultural officials, agricultural university faculty and visit several agribusinesses. Sight-seeing and cultural experiences also will be an integral part of the trip, Young says. 

Since the partnerships began, more than 100 former East Germans have studied in Alabama, while more than 85 Alabama farm leaders have visited Germany. 

A similar arrangement with Hungary’s Pannon Agricultural University has attracted numerous Hungarian agricultural leaders as well as 26 honor students who spent several months on Alabama farms. Meanwhile, 75 Alabamians have visited Hungary. 

Extension’s cooperation with Poland, begun in 1991, is patterned closely after the German and Hungarian models. 

The cost for the June/July tour is $2,400 per person, while the August study tour will be $2,200. In both tours, the cost covers round-trip airfare from Atlanta, all lodging and ground
transportation in Europe and all but three meals. 

For more information, contact George Young at (334) 844-3513 or e-mail him at gyoung@acesag.auburn.edu. His mailing address is 100 Comer Hall, Auburn University, Alabama 36849. 

SOURCE: GEORGE YOUNG, Extension Agricultural Economist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-3513