On July 19th, we jumped on the train to the village of Thuste, which is close to the city of Halem. There we met up with my third host, Lena Glenewinkel. As we were starting to get a little more south, there were some hills in the countryside, and it was very beautiful in the valley.

This host was a beef farmer. One morning we went over to the neighbour’s barn, and as I peeked through the door I saw some antique tractors. I have developed a passionate weakness for them, so I was like a kid in a candy store. There were Lanz Bulldog tractors, Hanomag, Deutz and a few other types. I even had the opportunity to drive them around. We also did some travelling to see a Biogas facility, played some poker, ate at a Greek restaurant where we had the opportunity to dine on some sheep, swine and beef, and also saw some bicycling cowboys as they were herding the cattle down the street in the village.

I will never forget the “Grill master” and the “Green Power” we had at the Young Farmers’ meeting place. I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to drive a car in Germany. It was awesome -- a very different experience. The country roads are only really meant for one and a half cars, and there are no shoulders at all. Speed limits are unlimited outside of town, but while inside town it is 50 km/hour.

On July 22nd, we travelled to Isenbuttel, a small community close to the city of Wolfsburg (where there is a prominent Volkswagen factory ),where I met my fourth hosts, Katharina and Henrika Bavenroth. We visited the Volkswagen factory and the Autostadt where there were other makes and models of antique vehicles like Fiat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, etc.

With these hosts, we also did some single horse driving out in the countryside, where we collected some wheat stocks before harvest for the Landjuend (Young Farmers) 72 hour building project, and one day we bicycled for 30 km to go paddle boating on the river for two hours. I had the chance to try a few different types of meat like goat and sheep, which were delicious.

We packed our bags on July 25th and were on the train again for a four hour ride to a village called Hude, where all the young farmers were getting together for a celebratory weekend known as “LaMuFe” to meet new people. Along the train ride we picked up numerous other young farmers. There must have been two-hundred of us on the same train. I arrived in Hude with approximately 75 pounds of luggage, plus a sleeping bag, mattress and pillow that my gracious host gave me for the camping weekend. I was hoping that we would be picked up by a car or bus, but instead we had to walk 1.5 km to our destination.

To see all the young farmers walking to the camp grounds was like watching the Amazing Race. The camping trip was amazing because I was able to meet so many people and develop so many new friendships in a very short period of time.

During the day we toured the city of Oldenburg and learned about its history. There was a great young woman who did all the translating for me, and a tear came to my eye when I saw the young farmers hang the Canadian flag. I was proud to be a Canadian delegate representing Canada.

On July 27th, I travelled to Dotlingen to meet my fifth and final hosts, the Alterbaum family. The delegates from England and Wales had reached the end of their two weeks in Germany and were on their way back home. I spent the week with Mariana Alterbaum, who had travelled to Canada in 2007, so we had a lot to talk about. Their house was made out of wood that came from beautiful British Columbia, which was very rare because most of the houses in Germany were made out of stones, cement and brick with cat-tail reeds or clay shingled roofs.

We went to the beach to swim, relax and tan, and toured the cities of Hannover and Bremen. We also went to a pig operation that had 2000 pigs, and a turkey operation that had 30,000 birds. The owner had been a delegate to Canada in 2004. I saw a couple rotary parlours, and a Lely robot farm, and learned about their milking practices and how German farmers are paid for their milk. There was a demonstration as the farmers were fighting for higher milk prices. They told me they were afraid of the Canadian quota system.

I was able to experience some German driving on the Autobahn where there are no speed limits; we were going so fast through the round-a-bouts, I was starting to feel a little motion sickness. It was fantastic. Later that day we harvested some comb honey from the beehives, and I was able to take some honey back to Canada to share with my family. They had some flavours of honey that are not available here since we do not have the same plants providing nectar for the bees.

All in all, the food, people and hosts were unbelievable. They were extremely friendly, helpful and extraordinary. Everyone I encountered was willing to take time out of their busy life to show a stranger on exchange from Canada, some of the highlights of the German agricultural lifestyle, and I was happy I could repay their hospitality with some maple syrup from my parents’ farm in Tweed, Ontario.

I encourage everyone to apply for this opportunity and make the time to travel through an exchange with JFAO. You gain valuable insight by sharing ideas, and being on exchange helps you to appreciate the technology we currently use in Canada because you get to see first-hand how agricultural practices are conducted in another country.

I will always remember my experience in Germany, and the people that I met, which truly made the trip a cherished memory.