Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Russian President Boris Yeltsin is surrounded by press and guests as he smrts his tour of the Rau farm in Derby. Yeltsin ' s Kansas trip ended at the farm where he observed a working what farm. (Photo by Mike We(chhans) Afterabrief ride inGregRautscornbine, Yeltsin talks with Rau on wheat production and yields on the farm (Photo by Mike Weiclduou) 16 in BORIS Yel,TSIN

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tit A hn Fulkerson, a 1992 K-State graduate in horticulture, returned to school as a non-traditional stu- dent to learn to grow the unusual. After working seven years in sales, the former landscape archi- tecture major, purchased his own farm. On his eight acreslocated eastof Manhattan, Fulkcrson started Pep- per Pond Farm. The pride of Fulkerson ' s farm, as the name indi- cated, was his peppers. The farm ' s 1,000 plants, representing 30 different varieties,were sold to restaurants, su- pennarkets and farm- ers markets. Peppers are an up- and-coming food, he are trulygaining in popu- larity. People will be cooking with chilli peppers more and more. The peppers were rated on dif- ferent levels,accordingtotheirheat Each pepper was given a number from zero to 10, with 10 being the hottest. Pepper Pond Farm had ev- ery level of pepper, and Fulkerson said he grew the world ' s hottest pepper. It was the habanero pepper which had a ratingof 10. Fulkerson said a bite as small as one-eighth of a dime would bum a taster ' s mouth. One of Fulkerson ' s favorite was hisdatil pepper sauce, Bottled Hell. It is excellent on meat, tacos and corn chips, Fulkerson said. The name, Bottled Hell, fits per- fectly because it is blasting hot. Fulkerson ' s commitment has earned the support of one observer. Ile ' s dedicated to what he ' s doing, saidConnie,Fulkerson ' s wife and K-State employee, and he ' s dedicated to the organic method. A great deal ofcare was required to keep the peppers healthy. It (the farm) is a time commit- ment, Fulkerson said. it takes hundreds of hours to keep up with the peppers. Living in the country, the Fulkersons found they had differ- ent worries than in the city. In town when it hails, you ' re worried about the roof or the car, Connie Fulkerson said. Here, it ' s the vegetables. When thunderstorms ap- proached, Fulkerson was nervous. The time commitment and fi- nancial obligation made Fulkerson unsure of the farm ' s future. When you work hard on some- thing, you hope there is a payoff, he said We went into this project blindly, and it has sure been a rich experience. He hoped to continue fanning on a part-time basis. He said the customer interaction was his favor- ite part of the job. I have learned a lot from the customers, and I hope they have learned a lot about peppers, he said. I sure hope that next year they don ' t ask, ' where ' s the pepper mane Fulkerson said his education didn ' t stop after he received his diploma. He said here was a differ- ence between growing 10 plants in class and 1,000 plants on his farm. I think I got a good education at K.State, he said. But just be- cause you have a degree doesn ' t mean you know everything. You need to get your hands dirty and make mistakes. To watch a crop destroyed in a matter of minutes is not a fun thing, Fulkerson said. It ' s given me a different perspective on what farmers go through. BY CHAD CLEMENT AND KIM HAMER VEGETABLES in 15

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COUNTRIES TOGETHER BY LAJEAN RAU Boris Ycksin visited the family of Lajean Rau, senior in journalism and secondary education, during the summer of 1992. Lajean ' s brother, Bruce, senior in landscape architecture, and sister Darlene, sophomore in secondary education, also attended K-State. RussianPresidentBorisYcksin made a lot of friends in Kansas this summer. He visited my family ' s farm as part of his trip to Kansas in mid- June aftera successful trip to Wash- ' ,von, D.C., which resulted in more than 30 agreements between RussiaandtheUnitalStates.While in Kansas, he also stopped at Wichita ' s Dold meat packing plant at Wichita State University. His message Was the same every- where he went. ' There will never be a war be- tween our two countries, Yeltsin said. We are friends now. I don ' t come to your country for handouts, but for partnership, hesaidatopawoodenflatbed trailer- stage at my family ' s farm. His commanding voice, ener- getic manner and frank speech wowed the crowd of about 100, made up mostly of friends of our family, fanners and representatives of the more than 20 farm organiza- tions that sponsored his stop at our (atm. His visk to ourhomebegan with a private meeting with the family. Flanked by politicians and digni- taries, including members of the Kansas congressional delegation, Gov. Joan Finney and the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Yeltsin and hiswife,Naina, took an impromptu tour of our house. It is true you live better than the president of Russia, he said, carefully looking over each room. I could only hope to have a refrig- erator this large in may own home. Yeltsin and my dad sat at our dinner table, looked at family pic- tures and talked farm talk . He asked about crop yields, cattle weightgainandimplements,barely giving his intemretertime to trans- late. Yeltsin ' s eyebrows raised at the answers to his questions. The wheat you grow comes from Russia, I am told, Yeltsin said, looking up from the table to the more than 15 people surround- ing it. And now, your yields are three times what we grow there. Yeltsin said he had much to learnfrommyfamilyandfromother American fanners. My people want to work, and Continued on page 18 Yeltsin speaks to a crowd of around 400 guests at the Rau family farm during his visit to Kansas. The visit consisted of a tour of the Rau farm and Interviews with the press. (Photo by Mike Wekhhans) BORIS Y PATS ' ti ru 17