01/28/1997

AU Poultry Scientist Named Fulbright Scholar

AUBURN - John Blake, associate professor in Auburn University's Department of Poultry Science, has received a Fulbright Program scholarship that will allow him to spend several months teaching in Russia.

Blake, who joined the AU staff in 1989, was awarded the scholarship to support a five-month academic assignment at the Volgograd State Agricultural Institute in Volgograd, Russia. Beginning in February, he will be teaching a general poultry production course and a feed formulation class to Russian students at the Institute.

Though this will be Blake's longest stay in Russia and Eastern Europe, it is not his first visit. During the past few years Blake has traveled to Russia and surrounding countries and to many other countries across the globe to share his expertise in poultry waste management.

Blake's first trip to Russia was through Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA). In 1993, he and another AU professor, James Donald, went to Ufa, Russia, for two weeks to consult with producers and industry representatives about poultry and livestock waste management. One on trip, Blake lectured at the Volgograd Institute and was asked to return for an extended assignment. Blake applied for and received a Fulbright Program scholarship to defray some of the expense.

The Fulbright Program was established by the late J. William Fulbright, a former U.S. senator who sponsored legislation that established an international exchange program to promote a global exchange of education and information. Fulbright scholarships help pay expenses for scientists and scholars to travel to share their expertise with people of other nations worldwide. Since it was established in 1946, the Fulbright Program has brought more than 120,000 foreign nationals to the United States and sent more than 90,000 Americans overseas to teach, study or conduct research.

Blake noted that Russia's poultry industry is similar to the U.S. poultry industry, but recently has had to adjust to political changes in the former Soviet Union. "They have very large collective farms there and industry is highly concentrated," he said. "After the break up of the Soviet Union, most of the government-owned enterprises fell hard. Many of the farms have gone bankrupt or are struggling."

"Before Peristroika," he continued, "a farm manager who needed feed or equipment or fuel for their trucks would just call Moscow and the feed or supplies would arrive. There was no charge and no money was exchanged."

Blake said that farm prices were frozen immediately following the break up of the Soviet Union, but the price for supplies, such as fuel and equipment, soared. "After the break-up, these government-owned enterprises were suddenly expected to make a profit and start paying their way," he said. "The inflationary price of their supplies increased dramatically but they had no opportunity to raise the price of their product, so they couldn't make a profit."

"These are very intelligent and well educated people, but they have no previous experience in economics and marketing, so they are having to learn it now," he added. Blake's visit to Russia is one way they are gaining information and expertise in many areas of agribusiness.

Though Blake will not deliver his lectures in Russian, he is familiar with the language, having audited Russian for two years at AU and also having used the language on his previous visits. "I have enough knowledge of the language to survive," he noted.

In addition to teaching, Blake is trying to help increase the resources available in Russia. He will be taking textbooks and teaching equipment to Russia, which he will leave in Volgograd after his assignment is completed. "They have very few new text books, overhead projectors and slide projectors, and these are very expensive to buy in Russia. I will donate all of the educational materials and equipment to the Institute."

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01/28/97