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Many OFBF members have expressed interest in touring and learning more about the countries in Eastern Europe.

So this year Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is offering an agricultural tour of Hungary, Slovakia (the former Czechoslovakia) and Poland from Aug. 18 through Aug. 30. Participation is limited to 40 Farm Bureau members.

OFBF's Director of Outreach Mike Pullins said the three Eastern European countries can help American farmers and producers learn about and explore agriculture in a different political climate.

"Hungary, Slovakia and Poland are much like the Midwest when it comes to climate, crops and soil," he said. "The big difference has been the political climate over the past 90 years with the rise and fall of communism and more recently the expansion of the European Economic Community."

The tour includes a visit to top farms, meetings with agricultural leaders and typical farmers, and talks on each country's agriculture, policy and trade issues along with visits to some of the traditional tourist sites.

Expect good food, from lunches in rural villages to a farewell dinner in Poland with folk dancing. It's also a chance to learn about farm traditions and farm families, health issues and culture.

One stop includes an overnight stay at the Tatra National Park on the border of Slovakia and Poland. While there, tour members will visit a cattle and sheep breeding operation in the high Tatra mountains with lunch at a local cooperative.

The cost is $3,500 per person, based on double occupancy (single rooms are $400 extra). This includes airfare from Columbus to Budapest and from Warsaw to Columbus, ground transportation, hotel lodging, 11 breakfasts, nine lunches, three dinners, full-time bilingual technical guides and a personalized travel and guidebook.

A $300 per person deposit and registration form must be sent to OFBF with checks payable to the Ohio Farm Bureau.

The deadline for registration is April 15, with final payment due by May 10. For more information, contact Pullins at 614-246-8284.