In Iowa, a farming couple hosted a group of agriculturists from around the world; the farmers gathered to talk about farming, discuss the latest model tractors from John Deere and eat ice cream of course.

The farmers met at the Bunny Ice Cream Parlor last week in Le Mars, as farmers speaking English and Russian talked about different farming techniques and shared tips on how to best harvest, cultivate and plow their fields.

Hoping to show them what farm life in Iowa is like, Mark and Ellen Plendl, two farmers from Orange City, hosted the Russian visitors, Ganzhin Sergey and Valeriy Mikhaylovich; they brought them to the Plendl farm, 4 Brothers Bar & Grille and the ice cream parlor, giving them a peek into their daily lives.

The two Russian men are a mechanic and farm equipment operator by trade, and attended farm shows throughout the Midwest so they could learn new tricks from American farmers and bring back their new found skills to their homeland.

The Plendls met Sergey during a trip they took to Russia that was sponsored by John Deere; they have kept in touch ever since and when they heard their Russian "pen pals" would be in the U.S., they jumped at the chance to have them visit.

Ellen told the Le Mars Sentinel that the experience has been a great one for her and her husband: "It's kind of nice to look beyond our country and also to appreciate what we have."