We are up bright and early,as we leave the hotel at 5:15 a.m., which is 11:15 p.m. central time on the previous Saturday night.  After a short trip to Frankfurt, Germany to catch the plane across the atlantic, the Nebrasaka crew has a BK Whopper for breakfast.  The final plane lands in Lincoln around 7:45 Sounday evening and we head for our homes and time to share of experiecne with industry, famiy and friends.  We will look back with fond memories of the friendships that were cul... (more)

Today was a day to tour the Old City of Istanbul.  It was an opportunity to see many sultan palaces and one of the oldest working water cysterns in the world.  We also made a quick visit to what has to be the world'f first and oldest mall, the Grand Bazaar.  It is said if you are in need of anything you can find it there.   The day ended with a traditinal Turkish dinner on a river boat on the Golden Horn, which leads into the Black Sea.

Many meetings were held today as attendees on this Black Sea Trade Mission heard from the US Consulate Deputy Principal Officer, Sandra Oudkirk and US Ag Minister Counselor Ralph Gifford.  Also disucssions were held on conditions in the region and the possibilities for future trade.  Later in the afternoon we attended the VIV International Poultry Fair.  Tomorrow we will tour the Old city of Istanbul and have a boat tour on Gumus Damla.

Today is a travel day as we leave Hungary and head to Turkey.  We will be staying in Istanbul, with a population of nearly 17 million people. Thursday will be filled with meetings looking at the relatonship of US and Turkey and another look at the effects the economy is having on the Black Sea Region.

Tonight we ate at the Haci Abdullah, the oldest continuous resturant in Istanbu, as it was given the first patent in 1888.

With the conference over it was time to go on some farm visits. The rain let up for most of the day. We were able to go to a farm near the community of Biscerd.  It was an opportunity to see a new milking parlor and how the European Union is tyring to assist farmers to make improvements on their farms.  We also went to the Somberek farming operation.  They are farming nearly 6,00 acres, growing crops of wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, hay and have 20 acres flooded for fish prod... (more)

The second day of the conference is underway, with breakout sessions on pork, poultry and dairy production.  The overriding theme of any discussion or topic is "we are experiencing the same thing."  Almost all in attendance are aware of the economic situation that is gripping the world, and they are wanting it to get worked out.  There is optimism as Smithfield says there will be expanding in places like Romania.  Smithfield says they have had to change some of the ... (more)

The Conference on Agricultural Solutions and Cooperation begins in Harkany, Hungary.  It is about four hours south of Budapest in a somewhat remote part of the country.  Participants and speakers are from Slovakia, Czech republic, Romania, Turkey, Italy, USA and Hungary.  The organizers include AGP based in Omaha and AGP-Hungary adn AGP-Slovakia along with Peter Mishek-Misheck, Inc. based also out of Omaha. Some of the featured speakers include; Iowa Lt. Governor, Patty Judge, Sou... (more)

This morning brought more rain and an opportunity to learn more about Hungary. We received breifings from Jeffrey Levine who is Charg'e d Affairs with the U.S. Embassy (since there is no ambassador assigned yet, he is the top ranking diplomat in the country), along with Rey Santella with USDA's Foreign Ag Service. The primary crops grown on the 12 million acres (5 m hectares) are wheat corn and oilseeds. After the briefing we took a tour of Budapest including the Danube river, Hungarian Parlimen... (more)

After a few weather delays and a change in departure city from Omaha to Lincoln, the Nebraska Delegation arrived in Budapest Hungary mid afternoon on Saturday. Hungary is located in Central Europe and is 7 hours ahead of the central time zone, The delegation from Nebraska include two members of the Nebraska Soybean Board; Mark Caspers of Auburn and Bill Miller from Upland along with staff member Brad Heinrichs. There are also delegations from Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. It rained on and of... (more)