National Guard farm team heads to Afghanistan

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - About a dozen members of a Wisconsin National Guard agriculture team are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

The Guard's 97th Agribusiness Development Team will be sent off in style Thursday morning. Gov. Scott Walker and other Wisconsin National Guard leaders will join family and friends in saying goodbye at a ceremony in Madison.

The team will replace Wisconsin's first agribusiness-development team in Afghanistan's Kunar Province.

The agriculture teams teach Afghani farmers how to farm and herd more effectively. The goal is to expand agribusiness, create jobs and reduce poverty.

The 97th team will get a few weeks of mobilization training in Camp Atterbury, Ind., before heading overseas.