Background

Click on smaller photos to enlarge.

In fall 2006, Kevin Brooks and Martina Mohrbacher started planning an international conference and study trip to Poltava, Ukraine. Kevin had been to Ukraine three times before and had established relationships with the Poltava Agrarian Academy. In 2006, he had taken a group of educators from Illinois to visit the Ukraine and participated in a conference in Poltava.

Tour members

After several months of careful planning and collecting funds, the trip was planned for April 11 to April 21, 2007. Seven participants from University of Illinois Extension were selected to go, but it soon became apparent that the group needed reinforcement from the ag sector. We contacted Purdue University Extension and they approved of the project and suggested three of their educators as additional members of our team. On April 11, the group departed from the US for the Ukraine. Participants included:

  • From University of Illinois: Kevin Brooks, Dennis Epplin, Donna Falconnier, Rob Knox, Kevin McGuire, Karyn Mendoza and Martina Mohrbacher
  • From Purdue: Steve Engelking, Mark Keppler, Phil Schmidt