"A group of seven PhD students and four lecturers from the University of Minnesota in the USA’s Department of Applied Economics are currently visiting the UFS. A memorandum of understanding between the two universities was signed in 2000 and renewed in 2008 for another six years.
Major role players were Prof. Klopper Oosthuizen from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Prof. Claudia Parliament from the University of Minnesota.
The purpose of the visit is to establish linkages in the field of agricultural economics between students and staff from the two universities with extended collaboration and visits in mind. Postgraduate students from both universities presented their research to promote multidisciplinary research discussions and to improve the level of research excellence.
The group arrived in Bloemfontein on 25 May and are now touring through the Northern Cape and Eastern Free State along with staff and postgraduate students from the Agricultural Economics department. They will be visiting various agribusinesses and emerging farming projects to learn more about the issues in agriculture. The purpose with the debriefing at the end of the visit is to develop a joint research agenda."
(from the UFS web site - http://www.ufs.ac.za/faculties/content.php?FCode=04&DCode=ALL&DivCode=0&uid=1686 )
"The University of the Free State is situated in the heart of the central region of South Africa. The UFS, a multicultural, parallel-medium (English and Afrikaans) institution, was established in Bloemfontein, capital of the Free State Province, in 1904.
On the main campus in Bloemfontein, our students number close to 16,000, while almost 3 000 use other means of study such as the Internet and distance education. The Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State, which was incorporated in January 2003, has approximately 1 500 students.
Our six faculties offer a full range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The University is an important centre for research and has close ties with a number of universities on the continent as well as around the world.
The UFS is recognised as a leader in the transformation process in South African higher education - a view endorsed by former President Nelson Mandela, who has lauded our University for its transformation and language policies."
(from UFS web site - http://www.ufs.ac.za/faculties/index.php?FCode=H1&DCode=HD1 )
"The probability that Minnesota producers will experience financial stress in the next three years is high or very high. That's the findings of a study by the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota."
Listen into KXJB Valley News, June 26, 2009 on Critical TV at
http://www.criticalmention.com/ctv3-1/landing_email.php?type=email&video=true&random_string=2f72680a19de64c19f9fa5f662e53458 | 
