India puts the culture in agriculture for FFA officers

    From the dry, expansive fields spreading over the Colorado plains to the wet, concentrated farms dotting the Indian landscape, 10 Colorado state FFA officers stretched their horizons on this year’s International Experience Program.
    A perk of being a state officer means getting the chance of a lifetime to explore agriculture in another country. The officers’ choice: India.
    “India had the most cultural experience for us,” said Colorado FFA treasurer Austin Vieselmeyer, a 2016 graduate of Holyoke High School.
    Ag adviser Ryan Hudson of Fruita was the sponsor of choice for the March 13-22 trip.
    By working with an Indian agriculture tour company, the group fit in a wide range of experiences — from a rice mill and potato farm to research centers and a university to busy city markets and world-famous landmarks.
    “It was hard to soak it all in,” said Vieselmeyer.
    One of the reasons he was excited about India was the diverse agricultural landscape.
    Rice is a major crop in addition to some wheat, corn and potatoes. It’s mostly flood irrigated, explained Vieselmeyer, and since India is so much warmer than Colorado, farmers have the opportunity for two growing seasons.
    Another difference is the size of the farms. An average operation in India is 6-8 acres, compared to an average U.S. farm at over 400 acres.
    The largest tractor Vieselmeyer saw was 50 horsepower, and while each area of the countryside has a few tractors to lend out to farmers, a lot of harvesting is still done by hand.
    “I was surprised at how far behind they are,” said Vieselmeyer, likening the agriculture methods to that of the U.S. 40 or 50 years ago. “It was cool to take a step back in time.”
    On the livestock side of agriculture, the food industry uses chicken, fish, lamb and goat.
    Since Indians don’t eat beef, cattle can be seen roaming free around the villages. For Vieselmeyer, whose family takes good care of the cattle they raise on their farm, it was hard for him to see some of the cattle in such poor health.
    A visit to a dairy farm allowed him to see cattle varieties that differ from the U.S. with their trademark humps on their necks and droopy ears. Not only did the dairy sell cow’s milk but also a sweeter, more expensive water buffalo milk that was milked by hand. Residents could buy the milk straight from the dairy without any kind of processing.
    While the FFA tour visited many Indian research institutes, a highlight for Vieselmeyer was a stop at Punjab Agriculture University, where the group got to exchange questions back and forth with major university leaders who not only wanted to teach the Americans about India but who also wanted to learn about U.S. agriculture.
    Other trip experiences included surviving the insane traffic of Delhi (the second largest city in the world), riding elephants and playing tourist at the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world.
    The FFA officers learned about the Hindu religion, ate traditional Indian food and saw a level of poverty not found in Colorado. “Whatever they have, they’re happy with,” said Vieselmeyer, noting the Indians were very nice and very peaceful.
    “I look at things with new eyes now,” he said. “We’re very blessed with opportunities here in America.”  
    After this trip, Vieselmeyer will be rounding out his year as the Colorado FFA treasurer. He has been busy traveling the state for chapter visits, leadership workshops, the National Western Stock Show, the Colorado State Fair and more. He will hand off his officer duties at the state convention in June.
    Vieselmeyer plans to start his post-secondary education at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, where he will participate on the livestock judging team while studying agriculture education and animal science.