On June 23, students from three Iowa high schools returned from a three-week exchange program in Ukraine. The return of the 28 students marked the conclusion of the second half of an exchange sponsored in part by a $190,000 grant from the United States Information Agency.

According to a press release, the exchange was coordinated by Iowa State under the management of Victor Yudin, program coordinator for ISU’s International Agricultural Exchange Programs office. Alfred Blackmer, professor of agronomy, and Wade Miller, professor of agricultural education and studies, assisted with the exchange.

Initiative for the program was taken by three Iowa high schools: Northeast Hamilton in Blairsburg, Wall Lake View Auburn in Lake View and Jefferson-Scranton in Jefferson.

The purpose of the exchange was to foster a relationship between future leaders from the state of Iowa and the former Soviet territory of Ukraine. Iowa students were predominantly members of Future Farmers of America, while the Ukrainian students were academically gifted students with a knowledge of English.

Yudin said the exchange program focused on the theme of ecological responsibility. Soil and water testing for nitrate residues was performed by all of the students to emphasize that agriculture and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.

Blackmer, who acted as technical adviser for the exchange program, said the students from Ukraine got the chance to do all the things that U.S. students enjoy doing, such as seeing a baseball game in St. Louis while on a field trip to Monsanto Corporation.

Blackmer said the differences between the two regions are substantial. In Ukraine, many families maintain large, two-acre gardens for their own subsistence while working on state-owned collectives. The communal farms grow a wide variety of crops which provide for animal feed and other human needs.

Private land ownership is still virtually unknown in Ukraine, and the concept is even alien to many people who grew up under the dominion of the Soviet Union.

Fuel shortages create problems not only for the operation of worn-out machinery, but also in the drying of crops.

According to both Yudin and Blackmer, there were several instances where cultural differences made for amusing anecdotes that served to highlight the need for cultural exchange between the two countries.

“One thing we need to do is communicate,” Blackmer said. “Most of their knowledge of U.S. culture came from soap operas; they were kind of surprised to see us acting like real people.”