From left, Rahem Hussein, Jalal Abdulla and Dr. Hammad Nareeman, director generals of agriculture for the Kurdistan regional government in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, pose in front of a 400-plus horsepower tractor on the Arth farm in the Grand Pass bottoms on Thursday, April 27. The Iraqis said although the farmers in their area do use tractors, most are much smaller, in the 70 to 90 horsepower range. The Iraqis are from the northern part of Iraq, which has had autonomy since 1991.They are trying to learn more about American agriculture and are looking for American investors in their governates (states). See another picture and map on page 9. [Click to enlarge]

The thousands of miles separating Iraq and mid-Missouri shrank a little the afternoon of Thursday, April 27, when three director generals from the Ministry of Agriculture for the Kurdistan regional government in Iraq toured Bartlett Grain Elevator in Waverly and then the farm of Don and Mike Arth in the Grand Pass bottoms.

The directors, which would be equivalent to the state department of agriculture agency heads in the U.S. were all from Sulaymaniyah, one of three governates (or states) of the Kurdish region, which also includes Irbil and Dohuk. The total population of the region, located in northern Iraq, is 5 million people.

"The Kurdish area is like three states basically and they have had autonomy since the first Gulf War. They are very pro-American," explained George Aldaya, director of the Kansas City Commodity Office of the USDA's Farm Service Agency, when introducing the three men to the Arth brothers.

"They came here to learn more about American agriculture. They are very much interested in having a free enterprise system," he added. Unlike the Iraq often seen on television, according to Aldaya, the Kurdish regions are stable and the only three governates that are classified as "green" -- meaning they are reasonably safe and secure.

"They are looking for investments in the area, and the ministry of agriculture does control an awful lot of land. If a poultry operation wanted to come in … they will provide them with the land and a lot of the facilities." He added that taxes would also be abated for a period and the government could put up 15 to 20 percent of the venture capital for investors.

The men, Jalal Abdalla, the director general for agriculture; Dr. Hammad Nareeman, director general of veterinary and animal production; and Rahem Hussein, director general for natural resources, flew into the United States on Sunday, April 23, and spent two days at the International Food Aid Conference in Kansas City. On Thursday morning they toured wheat and soybean processing facilities in Kansas City before driving to Waverly.

At Waverly, Bob MaCoy, general manager of Bartlett's elevator gave the men a tour of the facilities. They were also accompanied by Ned Bergman of the USDA in Kansas City and John Flatley, vice president of Bartlett Grain Company.

The elevator and the Arth brothers' operation were chosen as tour sites because of the progressive nature of agriculture in the area. "We wanted them to see progressive farms and from what we understand the Arths are very progressive farmers in the area," said Aldaya.

At the Arth farm, standing outside a machine shed, Don Arth explained their family farming operation to the visitors, which includes planting corn in 15-inch rows -- a relatively new technique. The Iraqis asked questions about corn planting populations and average yields. Although the Iraqis speak fluent English, transferring the yields from bushels which Americans use to measure into metric tons, used for measuring in the rest of the world. It took a few minutes and provided the group with laughter. They also asked about fertilizer, disease problems and soil pH levels.

Abdallah said they have high pH levels in the soil and have "concentrated" or clay soils. He said although the Iraqis do have tractors, many of the farmers prefer putting on their fertilizer by hand. Most farms in the area are five to seven acres in size, he explained. He said the tractors are mostly John Deere or Massey-Ferguson and are 70 to 90 horsepower, in contrast to the 300 to 400 horsepower tractors on the Arth farm.

He also said they have flood irrigation, but are getting more "machine" irrigation, meaning a pivot-type system which powered by a motor moves through a field while watering the crops. Although there was a three-year drought in 1998 to 2000, this year they have had adequate rain of about 1,000 millimeters, he said. The planting season for their Durham wheat is similar to this area, planting in November and harvesting in June and July.

Aldaya, who spent six months in the Kurdish region in 2003 and 2004 as a USDA advisor, said the agriculture in their region is similar to the state of Washington. The region is part of ancient Mesopotamia, where wheat was first cultivated, but Sulaymaniyah is only 90 miles from the desert areasmore commonly seen in Iraq. He said 84 percent of their crops are wheat and barley. They also raise some fruits in season, but currently have no processing facilities. While most of the farms are small, the land is owned by the farmers or is on a long-term 75-year lease from the government. He added in some regions there are some "larger" farms of 60 acres. The farmers generally share equipment. "One farmer might own a combine, another farmer may own a drill and a tractor," he said.

Abdulla said they also raise chickpeas, cotton and vegetables. He said the region is made up of mountains 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level, hills and "some rivers." He said they have 5,000 "ice springs" which come from the mountains.

Dr. Nareeman, who supervises the vaccination and animal protection program in Salaymaniyah, said that chicken is "the desired meat of our people." He said they currently have 750 poultry projects and five slaughter facilities owned by private companies. They also have the capacity to produce 300 million eggs per year. He said because of "influenza" they are currently trying to minimize the geese and duck population in the area. Turkeys are also being raised in the region as that is another "meat the people desire."

The main animals in the region are sheep and goats and they have over 5 million head. He said they also have 1 million head of dairy cattle, and they currently use artificial insemination to improve their herds. They also are currently importing purebred Freisan milk cows from Holland to improve the herds.

Other than agriculture, the groups also discovered many of the similarities between the two countries. When Don Arth spoke about the flood of 1993, Abdulla was familiar with it, saying they watch CNN. Since breaking out from under Saddam Hussein's power in 1991, most of the Kurdish people have satellite dishes. They also have cellular phones and Internet access. The schools teach English, according to Aldaya, because the Internet is in English.

On Friday, April 28, the Iraqis, along with Aldaya, will travel to Washington state, meet with Washington State University officials, and spend a week getting an overview of that region. They will then travel to Washington, D.C., on May 8 to 9 before heading back to Iraq.