High Tunnel Crop Production Project
US-China partnership for strengthening research, education and extension in season extension production and marketing
A $150,000 grant will enable Mississippi State University students to gain international exposure as they study a technology that makes it possible to grow crops for longer than a typical season allows. The grant will help develop and enhance teaching, research and extension programs to improve the profitability of small farms, which account for more than 90 percent of all farms in the United States.
Mengmeng Gu, an ornamental horticulture specialist with the MSU Extension Service said, "China, which has a climate comparable to that of the United States, has been a major agricultural country for 5,000 years and has used season extension technology for decades. It is the world’s top user of plastic for crop production, one type of season extension technology, and has more acreage in production under plastic and glass than the rest of the world combined.”
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2012 Spring and Winter Trips to China
A quick look at the trips (flyer):
- Spring trip (May 14-June 1. 2012)
- Winter trip (Dec. 16, 2012 - Jan. 3, 2013)
Program fee ($2,100) covers:
- Accommodations
- Local group transportation
- Entrance fees
- All meals
- Laundry fees
Other out-of-pocket expenses:
- $1,200 international airfare
- $110 US passport application http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html
- $140 Chinese visa application fee ($200 if use a visa service)
- $30-$150 immunization cost
- $50 international health insurance http://studyabroad.msstate.edu/students/health.html
- 3-credit tuition and fees (only for students)
- Personal expenses during the program
- Anything not specifically mentioned above
The estimated cost for these additional expenses is $1,550. Please budget for these additional expenses.
Scholarship (application):
Scholarships ($1,000 each) are available to participants from a USDA
ISE grant. Priority is given to growers and students from Mississippi,
Arkansas and Florida. However, everyone is encouraged to submit the scholarship
application form.
Passport and Visa Application:
Each participants must have a valid U.S. passport and Chinese visa.
- Apply for tourist travel visa (L visa) in China from the Chinese Consulate in Houston, TX if you reside in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Puerto Rico (http://houston.china-consulate.org/eng/vp/zgqz/t518255.htm). Otherwise, http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmzlglj/t84229.htm should direct you the consulate where you need to apply visa from.
- Use “Dr. Huitang Pan” as the contact person in China when filling out the form (Dr. Huitang Pan, cell: 13601231063, #10 Beijing Forestry University, Qinghu Donglu 35,Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China, htpan2000@yahoo.com.cn)
- A simple Google search will find many passport and visa services. Previous participants have used http://www.vippassports.com/visasstep1.htm for Chinese visa, which cost $207.50 in 2010.
Vaccination:
Some basic information is provided by Center for Disease Control (http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/china.htm).
Talk to your doctor at least 3 months before the trip since some vaccination
may require a series of shots.
Packing Tips:
We will arrange for laundry every 4-5 days at the hotels. This Texas
Tech website provided very good “Packing tips” and “Surviving China”
information http://www.depts.ttu.edu/agriculturalsciences/China-Hopper/index.php.
The first trip will be a study abroad
trip - Season Extension Horticulture in China, May 10-June 5, 2010. (See
flyer and application.
1211 Course registration
More High Tunnel Information: