Interesting Ag Job

Interesting Ag Job. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. I remember when I got my first real job. It was working through the summer as a farmhand for a local farmer in Kansas. Everything from tagging cattle to bailing hay and of course going through the Midwest wheat harvest it was a unique, educational and fun...plus hard working job. You did not have much trouble getting to sleep at night. Now the USDA is looking for ag experts to lend their knowledge in helping farmers in Afghanistan and Iraq. VILSACK: I'm asking folks today on this call to consider a very unique, important and somewhat difficult request and that is to assist the United States efforts in helping rebuild the agricultural economies of Afghanistan and Iraq. That's Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack reached out to land grant institutions to ask for help. VILSACK: We're looking for persons with technical skills in the areas of natural resource management and conservation, crop production, post harvest management, animal husbandry and extension are the areas of most demand in those two countries. USDA is asking for a one year commitment from the ag experts. VILSACK: I'm interested in asking all on the phone to really, seriously thinking about reaching out to your respective university community. The academic side, the research side and the extension side to see whether or not you can identify and encourage any experienced or eligible employee who might be interested in the experience of a lifetime serving as an agricultural expert with the USDA in either Afghanistan or Iraq. Of course Vilsack doesn't say it will be an easy job. VILSACK: I'm not going to sugar coat this. This service requires a great deal of sacrifice. It involves people taking themselves away from their families, their communities, their comfort of academic life of a great land grant university extension office and campus to serve abroad in fairly harsh environments. Since May 2003, 37 experts from USDA have served as Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Agricultural Experts in Afghanistan. Experts have come from a variety of USDA agencies. These experts help enable, support, and foster reconstruction of the agricultural sector, and help build the ability of the Afghan central government to support and provide services to the agricultural sector. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network. http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/Afghanistan/us-afghanistan.asp