Wayne Schoper of New Ulm poses with Vietnamese farmers during a USAID visit to Vietnamin 2000.
know as the Fall of Communism,
was a monumental year in world
history that included free-market
economics winning the battle
During a USAID visit to Egypt in 2000, Schoper said a farmer was excited to show
him his sack of U.S. wheat.
between capitalism and communism.
Events had a big impact on
many people, including University of Minnesota
Extension Educator and South Central College
Farm Business Management instructor Wayne
Retired University of Minnesota Extension Educator Wayne Schoper of New Ulm rides a camel with farmers during a 2000 visit to Egypt with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance to end extreme global poverty and enableresilient, democratic societies around the globe to realize their potential.
Schoper of New Ulm who recently retired after
nearly 40 years in agriculture education.
He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and Polish Ministry of Agriculture began working
together in the early 90s after communism and Soviet
domination fell in Poland.
“Farmers working for themselves, creating the
need for record keeping, was a new concept in
many countries formerly under soviet domination,”
Schoper said.
Representing the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), he went to Poland for 6
months with a Penn State extension educator. He
went to Russia in 1995. From 2000 to 2008, he
visited Vietnam, Egypt, Zambia, Malawi, Armenia,
Moldova, Kazakhstan, Lebanon in 2013 and Brazil
a couple times,” Schoper said.
“Once my name was in the USAID system, I
was regularly going on international trips. They
were the highlight of my career. I was off the
beaten path, getting to know real people,” he said.
Schoper said he got along well with Russian
farmers.
“A Russian farmer told me he thought all Americans
were evil. We had a few shots of straight
vodka together after work and got along great. He
changed his mind,” Schoper said.
Schoper said Polish farmers treated him very
well.
“When a guest is in the house, they consider it
like God is in the house. They roll out the red carpet,”
he said.
Schoper said he met a farmer on a visit to Egypt
in 2000 who was very thrilled to have a sack of
U.S. wheat.
“He also had a New York Yankees baseball cap
he was very proud of. Egypt produces cotton for
export,” Schoper said.
“People here complain about a lot things in this
country. They should try living in a third-world
country. Our problems are small compared to
their’s,” he said.
“I’m very fortunate. I picked a job that I liked,”
said Schoper.
Growing up on a farm with corn, soybeans,
alfalfa, cows, hogs, chickens four miles north of
Jeffers, Schoper graduated from the University of
Minnesota Ag school with an agronomy degree in
1977.
“I farmed for eight years with my dad and
brother after college before the farm crisis hit in
the 80s. We had 17% interest rates and $3 corn.
There was no way you could make any money. I
decided to get out of farming and got a job with
the University of Minnesota Extension Service
in 1985. My dad Walter was a World War II U.S.
Navy Vet who went back home to farm after the
war. He and my brother Tom continued to farm.
My dad took his last crop in 1999, ” he said.
Schoper worked with the UM extension service
in Pine County from 1985-1989, in Brown County
from 1989 to 2010 before working as a farm business
management instructor at South Central College
in North Mankato until retiring July 1, 2024.
He now works part-time in farm business management
consulting work with records, cash flow
analysis and tax planning.
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During a USAID visit to Egypt in 2000, Schoper said a farmer was excited to show
him his sack of U.S. wheat.
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- Wayne Schoper of New Ulm poses with Vietnamese farmers during a USAID visit to Vietnamin 2000.
-
- Retired University of Minnesota Extension Educator Wayne Schoper of New Ulm rides a camel with farmers during a 2000 visit to Egypt with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance to end extreme global poverty and enableresilient, democratic societies around the globe to realize their potential.
