Kansas State Universities’ Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL) kick-off to the World Food Prize, held in Des Moines, Iowa, started Thursday October 11th. A group of international students and researches arrived in Manhattan, Kansas to begin their United States agricultural experience. SIIL is hosting the group of international guests prior to the World Food Prize. These guests come from Cambodia and Senegal, and will be participating on a panel at the World Food Prize on, Thursday October 18, where they will be discussing the role of youth engagement in food production systems and decreasing global hunger.
During this past week the SIIL team had the amazing opportunity to show the international guests a glimpse of Kansas agriculture in a variety of settings. Dr. Dan Devlin, Director of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE), set up farm tours for the SIIL group to see U.S. agriculture up close and in action.
The first stop was at River Creek Farms where brothers, Joe and Bob Mertz, farm together on their family farm, which started in 1890. The Mertz brothers discussed how they operated and managed the farm using a crop and livestock integrated production system and discussed the challenges that face U.S agriculture. This conversation posed an exciting opportunity for a bi-directional learning opportunity, where both the native Kansans and the international participants shared stories about different production practices used globally pertaining to antibiotic use in livestock, livestock genetics, the use of GMO’s, the cost of farm products, and much more. 
SIIL would like to thank River Creek Farms and the Mertz family for their amazing hospitality and willingness to share their knowledge of U.S agriculture and their own personal operation, allowing SIIL’s international guests an up-close and hands on visit to a traditional Kansas farm operation.
After a traditional U.S lunch at Manhattan’s local Tall Grass Tap house, Dr. Devlin took the group to see the research side of Kansas agriculture at Kansas State’s very own agronomy department research plots. Elliot Carver, an agronomy PhD student, gave the group a grand tour of the agronomy department’s research plots. These plots are being used to test multiple dimension of cover crop practices, and participants were able to discuss how Carver is applying his research to every day farming questions and concerns.
Manhattan, Kansas is just the first stop on a week long road trip to the World Food Prize. Please stay tuned to hear more about the exciting experiences the international group is having while in the United States.
The panel that the students, staff, and faculty are partaking in, will take place on Thursday, October 18 from 7:00 am to 8:30 am at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott in the Council Bluffs room. The panel will be discussing youth engagement and capacity building. If you are attending the World Food Prize be sure to mark this event on your calendars you will not want to miss it!
