Tyson Gehrke, son of Ryan and Tanya Gehrke of Fennimore, a 2024 graduate of Fennimore High School, and former 2024-2025 Section Four State FFA Treasurer Officer, was selected for a unique opportunity to visit Spain Jan. 3-16 as part of the 2026 International Leadership Seminar through FFA.
The purpose of the leadership trip was to “inspire a global mind set through a facilitated agriculturally related cultural awareness experience.”
Gehrke’s trip actually started in New York, where he and the other 74 travelers from 26 states were able to meet and get acquainted with one another before traveling to Spain.
Jan. 5-7 was spent in Barcelona where Gehrke and his travel companions visited a family vegetable farm, and a “tourist dairy farm,” which Gehrke compared to like a “tourist winery” here in the states.
Going along with winery, they also visited a “cork farm” and learned about how bottling is done and processed there for wine and olive oil.
From there, Gehrke and his group took a seven hour train ride to the southwest part of Spain to the city of Sevilla.
During their four day stay in Sevilla, Gehrke went on a tour of the city, as well as a bull fighting arena.
They also were able to witness a fish auction, which Gehrke said they all found to be interesting as the local fisherman hold the auction, “Dutch auction style,” in which the bid starts high and then falls.
Gehrke said it was explained to them the auction is done this way for efficiency as the fisherman sells thousands of boxes of fish a day.
Next was a visit to an “Iberian” ham facility. The premium Spanish cured ham derived from black Iberian pigs, renowned for its intense, nutty, and savory flavor is a luxury in Spain, and Gehrke explained that once the pigs are butchered, they are naturally dried for two years, at which time the ham becomes edible.
The group next visited a bull fighting farm (known as a ganadería in Spanish) where they were able to catch a unique glimpse into the world of Spanish bullfighting culture.
Lastly Gehrke and his traveling companions visited a local olive oil company where they were surprised to find out there isn’t a difference between green and black olives, rather they’re just different stages of maturity like green and red grapes.
On Jan. 12, the FFA group traveled to the city of Cordoba where they visited a citrus cooperative and the Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba, a 1,200-year-old church, which at its peak could hold 40,000 people.
Gehrke stated an interesting fact that the church due to some “overlap” has ties to both Muslim and Christian religions.
Jan. 13 was spent in Poledo, where they were able to see the “Consuegra White Wind Mills,” that have sat on a hill for 400 years that were described to the group as an “economic driver of the area.”
A visit to a 12th century castle rounded up their visit to Poledo.
The last few days of their trip to Spain was spent in Madrid, where they toured the John Deere Innovation Center. Crop technology is tested there, mostly in the fields of trees, orchids, and vineyards.
Gehrke said they were able to see an auto sprayer for vineyards that can “detect the number of leaves and spray accordingly.”
The group was able to visit the U.S. embassy in Madrid, and met with the “Agricultural Attache” for Spain where they learned about trade relations between the Unites States and Spain.
The trip’s “grand finale” was the attending of a “flamenco” show which integrates dancing, instruments, and signing. “I really enjoyed all the vibrant colors and the whole show flowed together,” Gehrke stated. “I really enjoyed it and definitely want to attend another.”
“When traveling to a new culture or place, go into it with an open mind. I tried as many unique foods, got lost in the cities to explore the architecture, and I tried speaking their language as much as I could. I let the experience come at me as I went, and that let me enjoy every unique opportunity,” Gehrke stated.
He went to say, “I admire the Spaniards a lot, in both how they value health and relations with others. I could tell the food I was eating was healthier and fresher than some of the food I eat at home, and that is a compliment to the Spanish culture. Many people could speak English as well. After attending, I feel it is my duty as a global citizen to familiarize myself with a secondary language such as Spanish, and since I have been home, I have been consistently learning small bits of the language at a time.”
The trip was also the “grand finale” of Gehrke’s FFA duties, as his term as Wisconsin Section Four State FFA Treasurer Office ended this past June.
Gehrke is in his second semester of his sophomore year at Iowa State University, where he is double majoring in Agricultural Business and International Agriculture.
“As a student within agriculture, there is so much to be learned about a variety of sectors in agriculture, and the best way to learn about these sectors is to experience them firsthand,” Gehrke explained.
