Deanna Behring (left), the college’s director of international programs, goes over course offerings with administrative assistant Melanie Gilbert.

In the aftermath of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), many traditional small farmers in Mexico who have been producing corn on small plots can’t compete with large U.S. corn producers. The college is working with farmers in Guanajuato, helping them shift into high-value fruit and vegetable crops such as broccoli and strawberries. “Our project is designed to help these farmers produce value-added crops in an economically and environmentally friendly way,” says Behring. “This work is not only assisting Mexican farmers, it helps Penn State ag students see agriculture in a Latin American context. This project, with its many facets, is the richest partnership we have because it provides a really nice link back to Pennsylvania.”

Another element of the project involves building cooperative extension capacity. With funding from the Ministry of Agriculture in Guanajuato, Penn State extension educators are training the first generation of cooperative extension workers affiliated with the University of Guanajuato. Over the next two years, seven graduate students from Guanajuato will spend a year at Penn State, taking classes and doing applied research to learn how the cooperative extension system works. “When they return home,” says Behring, “they’ll be the first wave of extension educators in the state. Essentially they’ll be creating cooperative extension in Guanajuato, which is very exciting.”

The 4-H arm of cooperative extension is also involved in this project in an effort to build 4-H programs in Guanajuato. Marilyn Corbin, extension’s state program leader for children, youth, and families, recently traveled with other extension staff to Guanajuato and trained 170 4-H leaders and volunteers, using materials translated into Spanish by Isabel Hanson. “Young people in Guanajuato have said they’d like to learn more about baking and cooking, environmental practices, organic agriculture, reading, and recreation,” says Corbin. “Youth are learning about American and Mexican cultures and history while developing their written and oral language skills.”

A new project, initiated by Connie Flanagan, professor of agricultural and extension education, involves joint research with faculty at a university in Chile on how to foster civic engagement of youth—or how to involve youth in their communities. Says Behring, “In Chile they have a strong research base but they don’t have the opportunities for community engagement that we have in the United States, be it through extension or civic organizations. The researchers approached Isabel and me, asking for help in brainstorming how we could form a stronger connection with Chile.

“We knew Chester County has a multitude of needs in dealing with Latino community issues,” Behring continues, “and we had the idea to start a new project in which Chilean students who’ve been studying civic engagement come to Chester County and complete an internship on a farm operation. This would benefit Chester County farmers because they’d have access to these Spanish-speaking interns who have studied community issues. And it would benefit the Chileans by giving them real-world experience that they could apply back home. This project is only getting off the ground, but it’s another win-win integration of international and domestic efforts—it’s just another bridge we can build.”