By LOCKIE GARY, Hardee County Extension Director, Livestock Specialist

As the plane touched down in the darkness of Central Asia I realized I was in for another adventure. It was to be my fifth Farmer to Farmer assignment. For three weeks during August, 2002, I would serve as a volunteer Dairy Cattle Breeding Specialist through a U.S. Agency for International Development grant managed by Winrock International, a non-profit humanitarian organization headquartered near Morrilton, Arkansas.

Passing through Customs in any of the Commonwealth of Independence States (former Soviet Union) can be an intimidating and exhausting experience. This evening was no exception. All of my veterinary tools and supplies were questioned and carefully examined. Why was I carrying so many first aid kits, etc? As I made my way through the scam artists, I was picked up by Sergei Mischenko, a Winrock employee with limited English skills, but who was a comforting breath of fresh air. He showed me his identification and immediately gave me an envelope with my name on it and arrival instructions from Winrock International including business cards printed in my name. Arriving at the hotel in Almaty (former capital), I crashed onto the bed and got four hours of sleep prior to my morning briefing.

Central Asia...Kazakhstan...a land of steppes and nomads, a land through which the Great Silk Road passed, a land where Islam and Christianity have mingled and clashed. If you're not a fan of endless semi-arid steppe and decaying industrial cities, Kazakhstan may not be for you. If it sometimes looks like the landscape has suffered from years of nuclear explosions, it has, ever since Russian rocket scientists started using Kazakhstan as a sand pit in the late 1940's. But any country which uses a headless goats' carcass as a polo puck obviously has a lot to offer.

Almaty is a definite exception to this relentless desolation, and is a cosmopolitan city of over a million people. The views of the snowcapped Tian Shan and Altai mountains are spectacular, even in August. The highest peaks exceed 21,000 feet and Almaty is only a short distance from the border with China as the crow flies. Many travelers use Kazakhstan as a staging post to visit the more famous Central Asian destinations, but if you enjoy remoteness, wide open spaces, long hypnotic train rides and horse sausage, you will definitely be in your element.

In the mountainous areas there is a great temptation to go off into the middle of nowhere and hike into the hills, but this is not recommended if you value your safety. Transportation is limited, fuel overpriced, roads unpoliced and there is a growing crime rate, fueled by alcohol and desperate poverty.

Scope of Work

My female interpreter, Raushan Bedelbaeva, and I were to travel from Almaty westward to Qyzylorda by train, a distance of 1100 kilometers (682 miles). We were required to travel by train as we were transporting a semen tank filled with dairy cattle semen donated by Taurus Breeding Service. Semen tanks containing liquid nitrogen are considered hazardous materials and cannot be transported on a passenger airline.

The train trip lasted a grueling 24 hours which transported us across the desert at an average speed of 28 miles per hour! Suffice it to say that the train ride was not an experience I would like to repeat. Arriving in Qyzylorda in 120-degree heat was to be the coolest day of the trip. The temperatures would range up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit in this remote desert location. All of the villagers sleep outdoors where it is cooler.

After meeting our hosts (Regional Department for the Support of Entrepreneurs, Agricultural Department of Qyzylorda oblast and Husbandry Development Department) we began a tour of the region to familiarize me with farmers, livestock and vegetation. Our purpose was to train farmers in the technique of cattle artificial insemination (A.I.). We would accomplish this by conducting a full day seminar utilizing freshly harvested female reproductive tracts donated by the local slaughterhouse. The seminar was well attended by farmers and agricultural department employees. A videotape was made for later training. Portions of the seminar were broadcast on a national television program.

After the seminar we would travel from farm to farm breeding cattle which were in heat and injecting prostaglandin (Lutalyse) to induce heat. We would return to farms on schedule and breed those cows which responded to the drug. Because of the extreme heat we could only work the cows in early morning and late afternoon. In all instances the cattle had to be roped and snubbed to a post to restrain as there were no squeeze chutes available. This excites the cow and surges her bloodstream with adrenaline, which slows down sperm transport and minimizes the chances for conception, but we did what we could and hoped for the best.

When we began to travel by jeep in the blistering heat, I asked myself why the windows were sealed shut and could not be lowered. This question was soon answered as we left the main road and headed out onto the desert and got into a sandstorm. The dust was so thick inside the jeep we had to completely cover our equipment and camera. This also explained to me why cameleers wore loose clothing and headscarves.

As we were introduced to families in remote isolated areas, I wondered if the children ever attended school. I could not imagine them ever owning a vehicle. They were so appreciative of our gifts. I have found that the best way to show a special kindness to one of the women of the house is to ask the female children to select a gift for their mother and allow the child to present it. This can be a bit tricky when there are multiple wives in the household.

Traditions and Superstitions

Kazakhstanis are famous for their hospitality. They will welcome you into their homes, fill you to bursting with a variety of dishes, drown you in vodka (unless they are strict Muslims who abstain from all alcoholic beverages), and invite you back the next day. Guests are often invited in the early afternoon; a party is usually over before darkness sets in so that guests will have no difficulty going home. Once you experience the roads, this reasoning becomes clear. It is customary to bring a small gift for your host, but do not offer gifts or a handshake across the threshold; it is considered bad luck.

Kazakhstanis remove their shoes upon entering a home in order to keep the house free from dust, mud or snow, depending upon the season. Every family we were introduced to was incredibly gracious and welcoming. Hospitality demands that the host encourage you to take a second, third or even fourth helping of food. If you refuse the second helping, you are indicating that the food is not to your taste. If you are really hungry, you can pay no higher compliment to the women of the family than to eat your fill. To indicate you have finished a meal, simply place the fork and knife parallel to the middle of the plate.

Traditional Kazakh culture is nomadic and rural farmers live in a yurt, a circular structure with a felt covering. Meals are served either on the floor or on a very low-lying table. Most yurts have dirt floors covered with handmade rugs. Guests recline on pillows. Because nomads need strength to stay in the saddle, they prize fatty foods, using bread to sop up the grease.

There is another Kazakh tradition which some foreigners dread but which I enjoyed and appreciated. The head of a sheep or goat is often carved at the table with the eyeballs going to the most honored men. Women are rarely if ever offered this delicacy. If you'd rather not have to swallow an eyeball, the best strategy is to carve the head yourself. This is also considered an honor. Then you can give the eyeballs to the highest ranking or oldest men, and you have kept your honor intact. You will also be expected to distribute the ears, the cheeks and other parts of the head according to local tradition. If you find yourself in a position where you simply cannot refuse, the best strategy is to just "open throat" it. Just drop it down the back of your mouth and swallow. I had the privilege of being the guest of honor on such an occasion in a traditional nomadic yurt, and was even presented with a festive robe and colorful triangular Kazakh hat which is now proudly displayed in my office.

While these traditions are unfamiliar to us, many times I had to fight back tears as I realized how generous these people were with what little they had. In America we take our friends out to a restaurant. In the "boondocks" these folks invite you into their homes on moments' notice and share all they have. It is very humbling to be treated like royalty.

In rural areas you may be offered "Koumyss", fermented mares' milk. Do not be offended when your host keeps insisting you drink because his culture demands that you do so. On several occasions I was offered and accepted fresh camel's milk which is very rich and sweet. A word of advice here Ñ do not over consume camel's milk at the same meal with large quantities of horse sausage unless you wish to lose a lot of weight quickly. Remember that!

Although a guest may successfully decline to drink (my religion/my doctor forbids it) the offering of a toast is obligatory. It is the tradition for the host to give the first toast to the guest, particularly to an honored guest. If that happens to be you, you should respond in kind with a toast to your host and make it very flowery. I attended meals where at least 20 toasts were exchanged. You may even be asked to sing later in the evening.

Livestock Production on the Steppe

For hundreds of years, the Kazakh people were herders who raised their livestock on the steppe (vast, treeless, usually level plain). They relied on their herds of sheep, camels, cattle and horses for food. Historically, these nomadic herders lived in their woolskin tents and traveled the desert following the grass.

Under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin in the 1930's Kazakh agricultural holdings were forcibly organized into state and collective farms. Literally millions of Kazakhs starved, were killed or fled to China during these purges. Many herders slaughtered their herds rather than surrender them. Stalin forced these native people off their land --- people he did not trust, oftentimes entire villages --- to resettle in remote parts of Central Asia. This resulted in a dilution of the native population and today there are more than one hundred different ethnic groups in Kazakhstan emerging as a melting pot.

Sheep are the major livestock specie being raised in the steppe. Due to its history, geography and climate Kazakhstan is a major sheep producer with a current inventory of 37 million (10 million in U.S.). Many of the sheep are of the fat-tailed variety preferred by Muslim consumers. The Karakul breed originated in Central Asia and is prized for its "Persian Lamb Fur". The sheepskins are processed to give pelts that tight, twisted, curly look. The lambs are harvested when only three days old. Single born lambs are preferred because of the larger pelt. The lambs are born black and some turn into silver, the most sought-after color. The highest quality pelts are from lambs still in the womb which are harvested from cull ewes at the slaughterhouse. Karakul sheep thrive in the desert.

Many sheep are still shorn by hand once per year although Soviet style machine clippers are commonplace. China is Kazakhstan's neighbor to the east and is the world's largest wool consumer. However, sheep breeding will need to focus upon improvements in wool quality to meet international standards.

Camels abound in the steppe, are well adapted and are used for transport, milk and meat. There are two types: the single humped Dromedary and the twin humped Bactrian. Camels have an advantage over other livestock in this arid region because they do not lose as much body water. Contrary to popular myth, camels do not store water in their humps or anywhere else. It may seem that way since a thirsty camel may drink over 25 gallons of water in one watering. Rather than store water, camels reduce the amount of water that they lose by sweating.

Camels also conserve water by urinating less frequently and in smaller volumes than other domestic animals. Mortality among calves may run as high as 50% because the calf is under constant competition with the household for its mother's milk. The female camel may be milked as often as 5-7 times per day giving as much as a quart at each milking. There are also many predators which kill camel calves.

Veterinary inputs are not available to many of the camel keepers because they live in such remote areas. Camels are often kept as a store of wealth like a bank account. The camel produces a large hide of poor quality leather which is used mainly for sandals, rope or whips. The wool is used for making bags, tents and blankets.

A camel train of four camels can transport as much as a small pickup truck. Those who think that camel caravans are a thing of the past have not seen the roads in the desert or tried to purchase fuel for a jeep.

The cattle which I observed were mostly a small framed, fine boned , mixed breeding variety. Many of the cattle were in poor body condition and were very weak. Because so many of the cows are hand milked for household use, the calves are stunted for lack of milk.

There were exceptions, such as a very fine herd of well managed Brown Swiss cows which were fed a wheat supplement. These cows showed an excellent heat response and we were able to breed several of them. They even had access to a sprinkler system to keep them cool in the mid-day heat.

Several herds showed some influence of Holstein breeding. One particular farm had an irrigation system and the manager was doing a fine job of producing alfalfa with worn out Soviet hay making equipment.

All of the livestock observed appeared to be heavily infested with internal parasites. This is due to the heavy stocking rates and lack of pasture rotation. Overgrazing and a lack of deworming products is robbing the livestock producers of potential profits. Cattle share the land with sheep, goats, camels and wild horses. Fences need to be erected and grazing rights established before significant progress can be made in animal performance.

I left Qyzylorda with the impression that dairy cattle could be produced in this very harsh environment, but not without irrigation, supplemental feeding of energy and minerals and cooling systems. Grasses could be found in low lying areas where water could be found below the surface of the ground, but very few grasses can exist in the dry season, particularly perennial grasses. Many of the plants in this area are salt bushes and thorny. Because of the limited ground cover and leaf litter, daytime soil temperatures may be 30 degrees higher than air temperatures. When the temperature reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit cattle will stop eating. The area is much better suited to sheep, goats and camels. Camels may produce as much as four times more milk than local breeds of cattle kept on the same pasture.

Environmental Issues

Radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals. Industrial pollution is severe in some cities because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation.

The Aral Sea is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts. These substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms polluting the Caspian Sea. Soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor and wasteful irrigation practices are common.

Looking Ahead

Farmers are known the world over for their resilience and their optimism. The herders I met in Kazakhstan were hard working and eager to learn. They seemed very receptive and open to new ideas. But they are also bound by their past. Seventy years of communism has taken its toll by stripping the people of their independent thinking and willingness to hustle a living without a central committee telling them what to do next.

Many farmers speak of the "good old days" and would go back if the opportunity were available. One burly farm manager told me, "Under the old system my brother had a very important position so my family was well off. I had a big salary and a pension. Do you see these hands of mine? Now if I don't work, my family cannot eat."

Christmas day of 2002 will mark the eleventh anniversary of the fall of communism. Will the 15 former Soviet republics enter into a free- market economy and develop a capitalistic spirit? Only time will tell. With assistance from the United States, I believe they will.

PHOTOS BY LOCKIE GARY