This year, the first professional and cultural on-site excursion for the agricultural interns took place from 6 to 8 September 2021. The diverse south-eastern region of Baden-Württemberg, Bodensee-Oberschwaben, was chosen as the destination.

For the first time in the history of AgrarKontakte International (AKI) e. V., interns from different countries took part in a joint professional and cultural excursion. The 41 young motivated agricultural interns, who come from different countries - Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan - share similar goals and interests.  Due to the current corona regulation, the not completely vaccinated interns were tested not only before the excursion, but also daily in Friedrichshafen. Despite the GDL strike on the first day of the excursion and the associated changes to the timetable, it was possible for all participants to arrive safely in Friedrichshafen due to the AKI’s timely coordination and the host companies and trainees flexibility. Thus, everyone was able to visit the first part of the programme, the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, as planned. 

On the second excursion day, the participants headed to Ravensburg to the “Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau-Bodensee”. The Managing Director, Dr. Manfred Büchele, guided the group through a deatiled tour with expert input on various apple, pear and cherry varieties. Afterwards, the participants visited the “Rinderunion Baden-Württemberg” in Herbertingen. There, they were thrilled by the demonstration of the different breeding bulls and were able to learn more about breeding, insemination and marketing of the RBW e.V. in Germany through a professional lecture by Mathias Poferl.

On the last day of the excursion, the participants had the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of beer production at the Schussenrieder Ott brewery. Finally, a visit to the Kürnbach Museum Village in Bad Schussenried was on the programme. 

The trainees commented that it was an exciting excursion that gave the young students sustainable and enriching insights into the agriculture and culture of the region.