A reflection and photos

Well after a very exciting and fun trip to Argentina and Uruguay we all made it back home safe. The trip was a very exciting two weeks. This trip half way around the world was inspiring and eye-opening for everyone. I signed up for this class because I thought this trip would give me the unique opportunity to travel and observe agriculture in different countries, something I am very passionate about.

At the beginning of the semester, we started to prepare for our trip.  During class once a week we covered materials needed to get into the country, learned general Spanish terms, studied the culture of South America, and discussed in depth about their agriculture practices, policy and crops, etc.

This trip was great learning experience that many of us said we would take again if we had the opportunity. All of the farmers we visited with were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. All of us were surprised with how similar the farming practices were in Argentina and Uruguay compared to home in the Midwest.

Everyone had a great time on this trip, but I think everyone was ready to get back home to their friends and family. We thank everyone of you that followed us on our adventure to Argentina and Uruguay and everyone who supported us on our trip.

 Submitted by Brady Hauswedell

Some additional photos from our trip

 

Special Guest Visitor At Embassy

During our visit with the USDA Agricultural Representatives at the U.S. Embassy based in Buenos Aires, we received a surprise visit by Kevin Sullivan, the Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission.

The Deputy Chief of Mission, Kevin Sullivan (front row and center).  See photo in Embassy report for additional representative identifications.

The Deputy took time out of his very busy schedule to sit down and visit with the students and congratulated them on taking this step to learn and see about agricultural in other countries outside of the U.S. Sullivan himself was raised in Ohio. He also made the students official ambassadors giving each student a U.S./Argentina pin. This was a real treat during our educational session at the Embassy and we thank Deputy Sullivan for meeting with us.

Dr. B. Lynn Gordon

Back to South Dakota

 After a 10 hour flight back from Buenos Aires and a stop in Atlanta and Minneapolis the students became very familiar with airports on this trip.

Derek Van Heek took the time in the airport to relax while waiting for the next flight.

Jalen Baldwin and Jacob Baustin waiting in Minneapolis airport watching  it snow outside and wondering if they should have stayed a few more days in warm South America.

On Friday afternoon, January 8th, the 11 SDSU students arrived back to South Dakota to temperatures about 60 degrees cooler than they experienced the last 10 days in South America. 

However, they were glad to be home to see their family and friends and tell them about their exciting and educational trip. Once student told me as he scrapped the ice off his car in Brookings, "It was the best trip I ever made and I'm so glad I decided to go." 

Chelsea Sweeter was glad to be back to have easy Internet access to check in with her family and tell her she soon would be home.

Our blog from the trip is about complete, but we will share with you a few more photos from some of our last postings that we didn't have a chance yet to post and also a summary of some additional photos. Plus one student will provide a summary reflection of the trip and course.  So make a note to check back in the next week. 

Thanks again to all the supporters of our trip, CHS, SDSU College of Agriculture, and Schuenman Equipment along with individual supporters of the students. 

Dr. B. Lynn Gordon 

Tango Show

   There are many components that make up the Argentine culture, and we got to see quite a bit of it during our stay in the country. The artwork, the music, the food; but we spent one evening focused on a particular type of music and dance: the Tango.



    The tango was born in Argentina from Italian and Spanish influences. It tells the story of a couple's embrace, and it is a very intense and beautiful dance. Our group wasn't too sure about spending the whole evening watching dancers, but their minds quickly changed.




Students getting ready to enjoy their meal before the start of the Tango Show Performance

     It started out with a dinner, and then we sat along a balcony overlooking the stage where the performance took place. Suddenly the music started, and a backdrop of the stage showed performers on horseback. Two live horses came on stage and re-enacted the fight between the Spanish and the Natives. After that, our whole group was entranced. The dance moves kept our attention apt, and the show also included singing and instrumental performances. He was a wonderful singer, but we really enjoyed watching the dancing the best.

    All in all, it was a great evening, and there are some of us who want to learn how to tango now!

Submitted by Lexi Jennings

U.S. Embassy Visit

Our last day in Argentina was concluded with a visit to the United States Embassy. We visited with the Agriculture Embassy team representing the USDA. We discussed the new changes in government with the recent election of a new President for the country of Argentina and its effect on the agriculture sector of the economy.

Some of the major changes in tax structure include the complete elimination of export taxes on all grains, except soybeans which will be reduced five percent each year. To give some perspective, exported corn was taxed at a rate of 20 percent, wheat at 23 percent, and soybeans at 35 percent. Our main host, Lazaro Sandoval, USDA Ag Attaché explained how this will cause a spike in production of corn and wheat while an increase of soy acres will steadily grow over the next few years. This dramatic change comes as a welcome relief for producers that have been under anti-agriculture rule for 12 years and also for the Ag industry as a whole with 55% of total Argentine exports rooting in agriculture.

To a country that is the 3rd largest producer of soybeans in the world with 20 million hectares in production, these changes in the tax system will move the country in a positive direction to become even more competitive in the world market. Also, the new government plans to be more friendly to imports. For example, Kuhn tractor company can't get the parts they need to build tractors because of high import taxes under current policy. The new government plans to reduce these taxes so Argentina farmers can more easily afford new equipment.




U.S. Representatives in photo with SDSU Students: Far left - Lazaro Sandoval, USDA Ag Attache; Center: Kevin Sullivan, Deputy of Special Mission; Far Right - David Mergen, Agricultural Counselor.  

We were honored to visit the U.S. Embassy and meet the team that works on trade issues on behalf of the U.S. We also had the opportunity to have a short visit with the Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy, Kevin Sullivan, which was a real treat considering his very busy schedule.

Submitted by Jalen Baldwin and Jacob Baustin

Arrived back in U.S

We have arrived safely to Atlanta on our trek home and will be posting a few final stories and photos in the next couple of days.

Dr. Gordon

Selling Pen by Pen

A view from the catwalk of the pen layout.

Today, my fellow students and I toured the Liniers Livestock Market, located right in the heart of Buenos Aires. This sale barn at one time was the largest in the world, but today, is still competitive at a global level selling an average of 10,000 head of cattle per day. 


There is a huge market for all kinds of beef, but you generally see cattle that have a finished weight from 900 to 1,000 lbs for domestic consumption. In the U.S., cattle are not slaughtered until they reach about 1300 - 1400 lbs. This is because Argentinians prefer leaner beef and smaller cuts. Americans prefer more marbling. 

Cattle are sold by pen and this is an average size of the pens. About 30 head of cattle on average in some of the pens. These are finished cattle that would be about 1,000 lbs.

The livestock market is over 100 years old, but still has impressive facility on 85 acres used for holding pens, catwalks, and chutes for loading and unloading. The cattle are sold in pens ranging anywhere from 1 to 30 head. Each pen is sorted prior to sale, so all the cows in the pen are similar. All the  cattle go directly to slaughter shortly after they are purchased.  We were able to watch this type of sale up close today.

A good view of the buyers up on the catwalk looking down on the pens. Buyers move from pen to pen on the catwalk following the auctioneer as he sells the cattle.

Busy last two days and headed home

We had a busy last two days in Argentina and have updated you on some of the visits and have more to come so keep checking back. 

Our time has come to and end for our study tour in South America and we are boarding the plane in Buenos Aires to make our flight back. Going to be hard to say by to the sunny days and 90 degree temperatures (the 100 degrees were a little hot when walking in fields), and sure we are in for a shock when we hit South Dakota. We are to arrive home Friday late afternoon. 

So we will work to finish off the blog in the next few days and end off with some additional highlight photos so don't forget to check back when you have a chance. 

And thanks for following our blog. 

Dr. Gordon 

Buenos Aires Grain Exchange

This afternoon the class visited the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, which was founded on May 15th, 1854. We started the tour learning about the history of the grain exchange. In 1897, the first building that contained all of the tools needed was constructed. About 10 years later the exchange was moved to downtown Buenos Aires to its current location. May 15th, 2015 marked the 161st anniversary of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.

A view of the "Pit" as it is called where the buyers of the futures and options place their bids and in the background the price board, which showed the Argentina crop prices, along with prices updated in near real time with Chicago, Kansas City, Winnipeg, and other major world markets.

Students learning from a representative of the Board of Trade how the trading process occurs in Argentina.

Students could hear the chatter of the selling and buying of  the futures and options  and although not a hectic pace trade was occurring while we were there. 

 

The class also had the opportunity to visit the trading floor where there were a few traders were present. The most common method of trading today is through the computer which became dominant about one year ago when a government bill was passed that allowed more electronic trading. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange trades about one-third of Argentina´s total grain exports. They trade approximately 30 million metric tons yearly using contracts of 100 metric tons. This exchange also uses the Chicago Board of Trade as its main reference when determining price levels. 

Recent changes in political power have made the Grain Exchange more volatile as the new president of Argentina has made significant changes to grain export taxes. The importance of this exchange in Argentina is very large as it represents more than 800 companies that participate in trading commodities. Many of these companies are from the U.S. making this visit more valuable.

Written by Dale McMullen & Jason Madison

Carmelo Winery

The original vines of the winery that are between 35 and 40 years old and still producing. 

 

On this tour, we visited a winery near Carmelo, Uruguay. This specific winery started making wine in 1913. The location of the winery is prime since there are a lot of rivers around making the soil fertile for growing grapes. Some of the vines at this vineyard are nearly 40 years old and were the original ones planted. 

Grapes that will be harvested in late February

In order to make the best wines, oak barrels are used to ferment the wine and also the cork is from the Canoka tree. The best grapes come from vines that are between 8 and 35 years old. Before 8 years old, the vines can´t produce enough grapes to harvest and after 35 years old, the grapes don´t have a good enough quality. At the end of rose of vines, roses are planted since they are weaker than the vine and when insects and disease attack the roses the workers know when to start control of insect issues in the vines. 

Rose bushes are put at the end of the vines for insect monitoring 

 

Harvest time for the grapes is in February and it is done by manual labor. There´s 40 people in the field and 20 in the office. After the grapes are picked they get pressed and they go into silo type buildings for alcohol fermentation. For a red wine the skin is left on for 24-48 hours after the grapes have been pressed in the silo and then the skin is removed and the rest of the grape is continued to ferment in the silo for 12-14 days and for a white wine the skin is removed and the grape ferments for 8-12 days. The leftover pit and skin that aren´t used are mixed together and given to cattle. 

Cement storage units.

The barrels used to hold the wine after fermentation hold 221 liters and can only be used for 6-7 years since the acid from the wine creates a film inside the barrel. The barrel cannot have any oxygen or else the wine will go bad so they have to be filled full. In order for the winery to get ready for a new wine to get a new barrel ready they must burn sulfur inside it. A Malbec or Merlot wine takes 8'-12 months to ferment, a Tannat takes 1-2 years and a white wine takes around 6 months.

An interesting fact we learned is that it is actually a myth that wine gets better with age, a good wine will only keep for around 5 years.

At the entrance of the winery, a supersized wine bottle greets visitors.

Students viewing the winery with host. For many it was our first visit to a winery so we had lots and lots of questions. 

 

 Submitted by Chelsea Sweeter.

CHS Southern Cone Visit

Brady Hauswedell, SDSU student saying thanks to Ezequiel Simmermacher of CHS Southern Cone representing CHS, Inc., (USA) who supported the SDSU group on their study tour in Argentina and Uruguay.

CHS Director of Finance for the South American Cone Region, explained the growth and development of CHS in this markets of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. He presented a very good summary for us learn more about the grain and fertilizer market. 

 

 This morning we had the opportunity to visit CHS southern cone headquarters, located in Buenos Aires. The Southern cone region consist of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The office opened in 2009 and it is an important soybean grain supplier to China. We had the pleasure to meet Ezequiel Simmermacher, who gave the class a short presentation on what CHS does out of there southern cone branch.

Submitted by Brady Hauswedell and Dan Hansen 

Colonia del Sacramento

Group photo in front of a house built representing the Portguese culture due to the style of the roof on the house. 

Plaza De Toro near La Colonia which was built in 1910 for bull fighting and only used for two years. 

 Part of original wall that surrounded the city. 

Our Tour Guide Fabian gave us a very educational overall of the history of  the historic town La Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay and how it was fist established by the Portguese and Spanish people

Yesterday afternoon, we had the pleasure of visiting la Colonia del Sacramento.  We stopped at plaza del torro, a bull fighting arena that was built in 1910 and hosted only two full bull fights. The president at the time was attending the fight with his daughter, who was shocked by the violence. This led to the President shutting stopping the bull fights.

After that, our guide Fabian led us on a tour of the old city, which used to be a Portuguese and Spanish fort. This fort changed ownership many times due to each country's defeat of the other. This is very interesting because you can tell which side had control during the construction of the fort since they had two very distinct architectural styles even though they used the same materials.

When the formal tour was finished we still had some free time before we had to board the ferry. Most of the group split into smaller groups to explore further. After a quick ice cream stop, I climbed the lighthouse with three other classmates to enjoy the view. This city is very tourist friendly and has an amazing view of the Rio de la Plata.

Submitted by Paul Sitter.

SDSU group standing with the River La Plata behind them which separates Uruguay and Argentina and is the widest river in the world at two specific points. 

Jason Madison and Austin Effling asking a specific question to the tour guide about the history of Urugu

Historic Lighthouse looking out over the River La Plata. 

Facts learned about Uruguay

We have learned some general information about Uruguay from our tour guide and the gentlemen we have visited with on farms today. First off, they elected a new president last year. Here a president can serve multiple terms, but not consecutive terms. So a current president cannot be re-elected.

In the last 10 years, cropping has become much more important in Uruguay. Land prices have skyrocketed from $1,000 to $10,000 per hectare over the past decade.  

Forestry is also very important in Uruguay. The whole country has about 16 million hectares total. Out of that 16 million, about 1.2 million hectares is crops, 1 million is forestry, and the rest of it is all pasture land. The trees grown here are eucalyptus trees. They grow to around 50-60 feet tall in 15 years. The wood is mainly exported as paper pulp, with the United Kingdom as a major buyer. All the wood is hauled in trucks, which causes extreme damage to the roads. 

One major difference between Argentina and Uruguay is the terrain. Argentina is mainly flat, whereas Uruguay is rolling hills, more similar to eastern South Dakota. The other major difference is the equipment that farmers use is much newer in Uruguay. They don't have Argentina's export taxes, and they also have the option to import used equipment from the United States without paying large amounts of taxes on it. Overall, Uruguay is a much cleaner country with neat scenery. We all seem to like this country very well except for the rough roads. 

Submitted Jacob Baustain 

First Hand Look at Uruguay Crops

Today we went and looked at a farm that was managed by Santiago Narbaiz, his brother Jouquin, and another team member Juan. Santiago and Jouqin own their own crop consulting and farm management company called Servi Charca or Field Service. Their main focus is consulting and managing land for foreign investors from the United States and the United Kingdom. Santiago also spent a year in North Dakota working on a crop and cattle farm.

The team from Servi Charca explaining to the students about agronomy in Uruguay, Juan, Jouquin and Santiago. 

The main crops that are grown by Santiago and Jouqin are soybeans, wheat, and corn. They also have some barley and canola within some rotations. A typical crop rotation in Uruguay for double crop  consists of soybeans followed by either wheat, barley, or canola. For a single crop it consists of a cover crop of oats followed by a full season soybean or corn. Typical maturity groups for Uruguay soybeans in this area are group 5 to 6, compared to group 2 in the northern Midwest. Corn maturity is 190 to 210 for a single crop, and 180 for a double crop compared to the upper Midwest were we plant 93-105 day corn.

No cold winters in Uruguay and direct/no-till planting result in a higher pest pressure than found in the upper Midwest. Even though Uruguay is located in the Southern Hemisphere, they deal with many of the same pests we do in our backyard. Some of the main insects include grasshoppers, stink bugs, caterpillars, thrips, and spider mites. They recently sprayed an insecticide that will give them 20 days of protection against insects. They also deal with similar fungal and bacterial diseases that we do in the U.S. As in the U.S. they are also dealing with Roundup resistant weeds, which include marestail and ryegrass. To combat herbicide resistance they are beginning to use many different herbicides similar to those in the U.S.

Students Jalen Baldwin and Dan Hansen taking a close look at Soybeans that were planted around Nov 20th. 

Soil type and topography influence crop management practices. Most crops here are no-tilled/ direct planted into the prior crops stubble. This helps to reduce soil erosion from high rainfalls and rolling land. No-till leads to problems nutrient availability in their soil, because there is no mixing of soil most nutrients are in the top few inches. Compaction is also a problem that arises from no-till farming in Uruguay. Santiago is planning on adding tillage into his cropping rotation to help minimize this problem.

Santiago provided a lot of data for the students on common yields, seeding rates, rotations etc., and the students were filling there notebooks fast taking it all in. 

A full morning was spent looking at soybeans in various stages from a week planted to almost 2 months, and students had many questions about how the rotations of year round cropping worked. 

Since the farms Santiago manages are so far away from each other he has to hire customer planting and harvesting at some farms. Santiago does own his own equipment but can't move them from farm to farm due to the long distance. Most of his equipment is bought in the U.S. and shipped to Uruguay because the prices are higher here. Many farmers here use the same equipment as we do equipped with similar GPS and yield monitoring systems. 

Santiago and Dale McMullen discussed in depth some options to deal with certain issues on this particular crop and what protocols would be used in the U.S. 

The Servi Charca team challenged the SDSU students to study this field and offer suggestions for the next step of weed or herbicide control, afterwards the group gathered for a photo. 

The tour today showed us how crop production is similar and different from our home areas.. Many of the same crop management techniques are used in Uruguay as in the U.S., even though the growing season here is different. We would like to thank Santiago, Jouquin, and Juan for inviting us on a tour of their farm. 

For one day Uruguay and the U.S. Joined forces to discuss common agriculture issues especially those focused around agronomy. 

Submitted By Jason Madison & Dale McMullen

Uruguay Crops

Yesterday we were lucky and had cloud cover but today it looks like on our crop walk tour today the heat and humidity is back. We will be spending the day seeing intensively the agronomic side of the agricultural industry in Uruguay and look forward to reporting back later today. 

Thanks for your patience as we post articles and photos, sometimes wi-if access is good other times slower than we are used to. 

Have a great day. 

The Breed of Uruguay Visit

Today on our adventure in Uruguay we visited a one of the country's top Polled Hereford  seedstock producers. The majority of cattle in Uruguay are of the Hereford breed.  This is a family run farm that specializes in Polled Hereford cattle but do also have another herd of cattle based on Angus genetics which was started by their great grandfather. The farm name was Sociedad Ganadera San Salvador. They have 150 head of registered Polled Hereford cattle which they focus on raising bulls and breeding emails. Every October they conduct a bull sale where they sell 80 bulls and 20 heifers. They sell their bulls as two-year olds, and the heifers as open yearlings. Their genetics are extensively base on U.S. Seedstock genetics they select from trips to the U.S., and following the U.S., Hereford and Angus bloodlines.

One of the Fernandez Family's Polled Hereford Herd Bull's we viewed. 

In discussing their cow herd I learned they do not breed their first calf heifers until they are two-year-olds. They do this to make sure the heifers are mature before they are bred and calve. Their cow herd is never fed, similar to the Angus farm we visited a few days ago. The cow herd grazes year round. The bulls graze up until the sale, but about five months prior to the sale they are fed a supplemental grain ration of corn and oats while still on grass. We got to see all their bulls, including their herd bulls and the bulls they collect semen from. 

Another Polled Hereford bull that is the product of  the genetics as Sociedad Ganadera San Salvador . 

After viewing their cattle we spent the majority of the afternoon eating Asado (BBQ beef in South America) and enjoying everyone's company as we continued to discuss beef cattle. This farm visit was an exceptional stop and very knowledgeable for everyone. I hope in the future we can continue to have as quality visits as this one.

Master chef Luis Fernandez, owner of San Salvador with his family cooked up an awesome beef Asado. He cooked 22 lbs of beef and our students ate it all!!

Student Jason Madison presenting some thank you gifts to the family. 

The SDSU Students saying with the Fernandez family after a wonderful visit learning about the cattle industry in central Uruguay. 

Submitted by Austin Effling