Exploring Dairy, Education, and Potatoes in Kosovo

We started off the day with a large group of the delegation meeting with the Minister of Innovation, Besim Beqaj, at the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo. The minister did a great job of outlining possible areas of growth for education and his vision for Kosovo to lead IT in the region with all the young people in Kosovo. We were able to have great discussion and ask many questions.

After our breakfast, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kosovo, we broke off from the large group and we headed to Eurolona. Eurolona is a farm who’s main products are dairy and wheat. While Eurolona is a farm they are also a processing facility for dairy producing milk, yogurts, cheese, and other dairy products. They utilize all of their milk and buy milk from other area farmers to produce all of their products that are currently sold in Kosovo. As their operation grows they are looking towards the possibility of export markets. Currently they are milking in a tie stall setup, but are in the process of switching to a free stall/open setup with an eight herring bone parlor. It was great to see their setup and tour their facilities. We were even able to see some genetics from Iowa State University as Eurolona is the home of the first embryo transfer cattle in Kosovo and the region. This work has been done by Dr. Curt Youngs from Iowa State University.

For lunch we enjoyed another spectacular meal in an outdoor setting. Many enjoyed fish while others opted for steak or calzones. Following lunch we met with Almir an agricultural educator at the Prishtina Agriculture High School and the principal of the school. This is the only magnet agriculture school in the country. They currently have 530 students studying agriculture. Unfortunately, there were no students on campus as it was a national holiday. We were able to see their awesome facilities including their food lab, greenhouses, computer labs, orchard, and science laboratories. We will return to the Prishtina Agriculture High School on Friday to learn more about their program and see their school farm.

Before retuning to the hotel we visited M&6 Products who process potatoes into french fries and also create kroket, which is similar to a mozzarella stick with meat chunks. Thanks to Almir for sharing agriculture in Kosovo with us today. After returning to the hotel we had the opportunity to enjoy dinner at nearby Soma and enjoy conversations with colleagues and friends from Iowa. We look forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

Presidential Praise: Kosovo and Iowa

It was another full day in Kosovo! We started the day off by visiting with the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci. There was great discussion around the success of the Iowa-Kosovo partnership and plans for the future. Once our meeting was completed with the president we traveled to an archaeological site. We were able to see roads, churches, tombs, etc. that were built by the Romans. We were also able to get a good look at the soil profile, wheat, and corn in the surrounding area.

We enjoyed another spectacular lunch outdoors at a country themed restaurant visiting with folks from USAID about agriculture projects in the northwest region of Kosovo. Following lunch we traveled to see the projects they were explaining to us. We visited a young farmer producing raspberries. He had grown his operation substantially over the last couple years and plans further expansion. Raspberries are much more profitable than the traditional corn and wheat crops grown in the region. After planting raspberries they will produce for 15 years. It just takes one year to receive your return on investment with raspberries in Kosovo. After our time in the field we traveled to a processing plant that is being built for the raspberries.

Next up was a visit with the University of Pristina College of Agriculture and Vetrenary Medicine. We had a great discussion on agriculture education for their 2,000 students. Public universities in Kosovo are funded 100% by the government.

To wrap up our day of touring and visits we traveled to PESTOVA which processes potatoes into a variety of products. We found their products delicious! They are working to increase production in order to continue increasing their exports.

We rounded out a spectacular day at a backyard BBQ that was fabulous. It included a wide range of food, live music, fireworks, and a birthday celebration for our great friend Consul General Xhavit Gashi!