The farming system Lithuanian inherited after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 was antiquated and inefficient leaving farmers unable to compete in the modern world. Small farmers (a major economic sector in Lithuania) lack access to modern equipment, high quality seeds, modern farming practices and marketing programs. With the help of the Auksučiai  Foundation, to foster the goal of modernization, a Lithuanian nonprofit, the Auksučiu Ukio ir Mišku Centras (The “Farm Center”) was created in 2002. It is located near the town of Kuršenai in the Šiauliai region of northwestern Lithuania. This model farm now serves as a research, demonstration and educational center.

The genesis of the Foundation and the Center came from Mr. Vytautas Šliupas, a retired engineer, living in Burlingame, California. Shortly after Lithuania gained its independence in 1991, Mr. Šliupas was able to secure the return of his Grandparents’ farmland. To reconnect with his ancestral home, he decided to establish a project which would honor his father and at the same time help farmers locally.

His father, Dr. Jonas Šliupas, was a prominent leader in the Lithuanian nationalist movement which sought independence from Tsarist Russia at the turn the century. He had to flee to the US in 1884. While in the US he worked ceaselessly on a Lithuanian American campaign to gain political and economic support for Lithuanian Independence. This movement eventually cumulated in official US recognition of Lithuania in 1922. The elder Šliupas returned to the newly independent Lithuania shortly after World War I, where he came to be regarded as one of the founding fathers of the modern Lithuania Republic.

When the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania during World War II the Šliupas farm was confiscated and nationalized. It remained under control of the Soviet backed government for the next fifty years. Following collapse of the Soviet Union and the reestablishment of an independent Lithuania, the younger Šliupas was able to reclaim the family 54 hectare (134 acres) farm. This acreage has been expanded to 157 hectares (389 acres) and now serves as the site of the Auksučiai  Farm and Forest Center, where employees of the Center conduct research on new crops, improvement of existing crops, improving farming practices, and many other related projects. Both organizations currently have an on-going relationship with the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture, the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, Šiauliai University and with prominent individuals in Lithuania such as the first lady of Lithuania, Mrs. Alma Adamkus.