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Japanese exchange program helping train new generation of farmers

Some King County farmers are getting help from Japanese exchange students who want to learn how Americans farm and raise livestock. The exchange program is helping grow a new generation of farmers in both countries.

Megumi Ryu is 4,800 miles from home, but the neighbors look a lot alike.

"They are very hungry," Ryu said about newborn calves. "Very cute."

Ryu's parents are dairy farmers in Japan and she wants to carry on the family legacy. She's part of the Japanese Agricultural Training Program that started 60 years ago to bring American farming technology to Japan.

Today, the program more of a cultural connection - growing good will and new generations of farmers in both countries.

"Having Meg here helps us learn a lot about your panic, not just about farming in Japan but their culture," Leann Krainick said.

Krainick owns the dairy farm in Enumclaw where Ryu helps with the new calves. Her family's farm is on a much smaller plot of land in a more urbanized area, like having a dairy farm in Seattle city limits.

The average age of Japanese farmers is 78. It's a lot like America, where farmers are aging out. The average King County farmer in Washington is 58 years old. Only 2 percent of the farmers in King County are under 35.

"Once I retire, I am not going to be able to produce food anymore, but I am going to need to eat. So, we need to encourage our youth to take over the reins," Krainick said.

Over 5,000 farmers have been through the program in the last 52 years. From Hawaii to Delaware, trainees are placed on farms all over the United States.

The majority of trainees are on the west coast, with California, Oregon, and Washington having the highest concentration of host farms. Lately, the program has averaged around 35 participating host farms, and between 40-50 incoming trainees per year.

Kiyoshi Shimada is another one of the exchange farmers.

"My father grows wheat, soybeans, and buckwheat," he said.

The exchange farmers spend two years studying and farming followed by graduation. Then they go home to Japan.

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