Taiwan’s ties that bind

For all their differences —and there are plenty — the United States and Taiwan share a bond that benefits farmers from both economies, Cole Regehr said.

Regehr, a senior from Iola High School, spent 10 days in the island of Taiwan in November, as part of the Taiwan Youth Exchange Program.

There, Regehr toured a number of farms to see how the eastern Asian state is able to grow commodities on land significantly smaller than in the United States — the entire state is about the size of Maryland — and with radically warmer temperatures.

The key, Regehr explained, is genetic modification.

While the trend for many farmers in the United States is to avoid genetically modified crops, it’s a necessity in Taiwan, he said.

“They’ll do research to find what will yield and taste the best,” Regehr said. “They’ll try to produce as much as they can from a limited amount of land.”

Most fields have an area roughly the size of a city block, if that, Regehr noted.

And while corn, soybeans and wheat are the backbone of Kansas farms, producers in Taiwan rely upon much more diverse products, from rice and bananas to cocoa beans, pineapple and passion fruit. Flower farms are prominent as well.

“They don’t have near the equipment we have,” Regehr said. ‘They do a lot of their growing by hand.”

Most of the farms are situated in Taiwan’s Chianan plains along the island’s western coast. A series of mountain ranges take up the eastern two-thirds of the island.

“You can pretty much see the mountains wherever you drive,” he said.

There are other differences as well. Farmers in Taiwan more often than not sport sandals instead of work boots.

“Guess that’s all they need,” Regehr laughed.

“I saw one dairy farm,” he continued. “I’d heard they have pigs on some farms, but I never saw them.”

Regehr and his group spent part of their time in the mountains as well, “probably my favorite part of the trip,” he said. “We got to do a lot of mountain hiking. It was fun.”

The biggest adjustment may have been with the weather. Regehr departed Kansas City with temperatures in the 40s, and arrived in Taiwan with highs usually in the 80-degree range.