Associated Press
WASHBURN, Wis. -- Peter Strzok thinks the Midwest's old sheds and barns contain something that could help Iraq's shaky economy: farm equipment.
The Washburn man started a campaign this month to collect old garden tillers and farm equipment for shipment to Iraqi farmers.
He plans to collect the equipment in Ashland, recondition it with the help of volunteers and truck it to Duluth, Minn., for transfer to ship.
He hopes to send his first shipment by September.
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Even small, basic equipment could boost crop yields significantly in Iraq, said Schwan Rashid, an accountant in Des Moines who grew up farming in northern Iraq and has family there.
Many Iraqi farmers still use hand tools and a few animals to do almost all their field work, he said.
Strzok plans to auction the donated equipment to the farmers.
