A group of 24 Maryland farmers and agriculture officials will be traveling to Cuba in early January to learn firsthand about the production of cigars, sugar cane and citrus fruit in a trip that also promises a crash course on the politics, economics and culture of the Communist nation.
The farmers, ranging in ages from 23 to the mid-50s, are students in a program called Lead Maryland that is designed to develop the state's agriculture and rural community leaders of the future.
Emily Wilson, a government affairs coordinator for the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus, chaired the committee that arranged the one-week trip.
The group is to depart Jan. 5, and Wilson is anxious to start packing.
"I'm excited," she said. "This is an incredible opportunity to see firsthand what life is like in Cuba. It will open our eyes to a different culture and a different way of life. We will be able to compare how farming is done there with the way it is done here, and we can learn from each other."
Wilson, 32, grew up on a farm in southern Anne Arundel County that planted tobacco and raised beef cattle before becoming a horse farm.
She has also worked at the Maryland Farm Bureau and the University of Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in College Park.
Another member of the tour is Scott Quinn of Chestertown, a specialist in precision agriculture, which employs the global positioning satellite system to track crop growth and determine the amount of nutrients needed on each plot of land.
Candace Lohr, 30, of Churchville will bring her knowledge of managing the family's fruit orchard.
"Hopefully, we will see them harvest sugar cane," she said. Lohr also expressed her hope that the Lead Maryland trip and similar ventures will help open the door to more trade with Cuba.
Others making the journey include a livestock farmer, a farm equipment dealer, an oyster farm operator and members of MidAtlantic Farm Credit.
The travelers are scheduled to spend several days in Havana before moving on to Pinar del Rio, a farming region. They will be meeting with commerce and agriculture officials and, although it is not scheduled, they hope to have a session with President Fidel Castro.
Hagner R. Mister, Maryland's agriculture secretary, said the trip could lead to an agricultural exchange program in which Cuban farmers would visit Maryland and new markets could be opened for state farmers and food processors.
He said there is tremendous demand for food in Cuba and the Castro government estimates that it could save up to 20 percent by purchasing food from the United States rather than from European countries.
Mister said Cuba has obtained more than $200 million worth of food from the United States since the federal government partially lifted its embargo on the island nation in 2000.
Lead Maryland is a nonprofit education organization. Its sponsors include the Maryland Department of Agriculture, University of Maryland, the Maryland Farm Bureau and the Maryland Grain Producers Association.