Final Day – International Travel Seminar
March 8, 2010
The Illinois Ag Leadership Program International Travel Seminar final day kicked off with a morning of free time for participants to explore the rich heritage of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is a city of approximately 14 million people with strong European influence. The streets remind many of the architecture in Paris. One of the prime tourist spots was the Cementerio de la Recoleta where generations of Argentina’s elite rest, including Evita.
With our bags packed for one final time, the group set off for the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA). We were welcomed by Dean Schang who told us about the history of the 50 year old University and their Ag Leadership programs. The Dean has connections at the University of Illinois with Chancellor Easter and others as they exchange information and Argentine students study abroad.
Mr. Jaime gave us an overview of rural organizations in Argentina. They have three distinct levels of organization with the first degree being local, second degree regional and third degree national.
Pablo Corradi discussed AACREA, the Argentina Technical Association which links farmers with information and technology while providing a platform to share knowledge. AACREA classes are available to anyone in the community and offers training in working in groups, how to organize and influence others.
Hugo Delgado talked about PCDa which holds seminars and sponsored field days in various locations. PCDa is not available to the community; members share information about their farms in a very transparent way so provide learning opportunities.
Cristina Manzano talked about the CEIDA program that is the Argentina version of the Illinois Ag Leadership Program. Founded in 1984, CEIDA promotes and prepares current and future leaders in Agriculture. Unlike our Illinois program, CEIDA meets only in Buenos Aires and is a program for the entire country.
Next it was time for the Illinois Ag Leadership Class of 2010 to tell our Argentina hosts about Rural Organizations in Illinois. Joyce Watson provided information about the IALF. Chuck Cawley from Rochelle shared information on the Illinois Farm Bureau. Chris Gould from Elburn shared information on the Illinois Corn Growers Association.
Our final session of the International Travel Seminar was an open question/answer session between the Argentina group and our Illinois group. We discussed farming practice and public perception of agriculture. We concluded with a group photo.
With that we were off on our last bus journey. The trip to airport left us anxious to go home and see our families but also saddened that our educational experience was over. As we settled in for our nearly ten hour flight to Dulles we were met with time to reflect on our experience. We were all chosen for this program because of our potential as leaders in Illinois. To be the leaders we are to become it is vital for us to understand the global impact other countries have in Illinois and the impact we have on them. We are left with no doubt that we will be reading more headlines about our South American friends and their emergence as leaders in feeding the world.
THANK YOU to the Illinois Ag Leadership Foundation, all of our hosts and those that made this experience possible. It was the learning opportunity of a lifetime.
March 5, 2010 – David Hughes Farm Tour
March 6, 2010
Argentine Countryside
This morning we boarded the bus for a 3-hour trip to the David Hughes farm to meet with farm management and local agronomic professionals. As we gradually passed out of the city into the Argentine countryside, I immediately had a comfortable sense of home, because of the similarities between this region of the pampas and portions of central Illinois. Flat topography, fertile soils with relatively high organic matter, similar crop rotations, and obviously high management.
Argentina has a noticeably more mature state of development than what we observed in Mato Grosso, and yet they have also have a profound respect for the traditions of the past. Primary roads to the countryside were in far greater condition than Brazil, but side roads were largely unpaved. Most grain commodities here are still moved by truck, although the distances are more manageable. Farmstead design could be described as hacienda-style, with gated entrances and long driveways lined with trees, leading to a farmstead that is functional by design and softened to the point of being nearly hidden by natural-style landscaping.
The population here seems to be less diverse than Brazil and is obviously influenced by European-Spanish ancestry. The people are warm and friendly with an unrushed pace, as was evidenced by the warm greeting and hospitality we received from our hosts at the farm. Many of those working in management in agriculture have advanced degrees, and most of those were trained in universities in the Midwestern US.
The David Hughes farm works under a different business model than seen in US cropping enterprises. The operation is divided into a land-holding entity and an operational entity. The farm consists of 35,000 acres, 2/3 of which is in row crop. About 90% of the farm land is owned and the balance rented. The operation owns very little equipment and all field operations, from planting to harvesting, is done by a custom machinery business that works
Our Host Francisco (Poncho) Abello
under contract with the farm. This arrangement allows the farm to focus on hiring individuals trained in agronomics and business management. A Management Information System (MIS) ties crop records directly to the accounting system for a very accurate and current picture of cost of production and profitability.
We boarded pickup trucks and wagons for an up close tour of the farming operation, which conflicted a bit with our business casual dress. The roughest part of the trip for many were the swarming and biting mosquitoes. Everyone was happy to suffer the dust, bumps, and bites for this firsthand experience on the farm.
All crops are grown under no-till methods, facilitated by relatively deep, well-drained soils of volcanic origin. Crop rotation is corn followed by soybeans followed by wheat then double-crop soybeans. Long growing seasons even accommodate double crop corn behind wheat. Nearly all soybeans are roundup-ready, but Argentine laws have made tech fees difficult to manage for Monsanto and nearly all farmers save seed without paying the tech fee.
Precision agriculture has started to take a foothold. One of our guests Susana Grigera, PhD in agronomy from University of Nebraska, told of starting a precision agriculture business upon her return to the country. An unexpected increase in export taxes by the federal government forced agriculture into a position of tightening the belt on technology investments. This pressure along with the global economic crisis eventually forced her to close. Technology is general is lagging somewhat because of these lingering governmental effects. For example, VT3 triple stack technology in corn has not yet been released here in Argentina.
The operation has also recently started developing 60,000 acres of pasture land further west in Argentina on marginal land closer to the mountains. This move is reflective of a general trend that has seen cattle gradually being displaced by row crop on high productivity soils in the pampas region, not unlike what we have seen in the mid-western US.
We concluded the day’s events with a traditional Argentine barbeque were meat is placed over low flat cooking racks about a foot above the ground. The meat is gradually roasted by charcoals from a separate wood fire which are moved by shovel and positoned underneath the cooking rack. The net result is a low, slow cooked, wood-fired meat that was absolutely superb. We had a cut of beef T-bone, pork loin, and chorizo pork sausage. We said farewell to our guests and returned to the city for our final night in Argentina.
Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 6, 2010
Buenos Dias and Ola from the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. Our morning began with something new: mass cabs from the Hotel Emperador to the United States Embassy. Coordinating 8 taxis for 31 people is quite a trick. We arrived before 9 am in bright sunshine and warm temps. Long lines for visas had already queued up but we were ushered into the back door and straight through heavy security (no phones, cameras or computers) into the Embassy. John Fennerty is the economics counselor for the U.S. mission here in Buenos Aires and he was our first speaker. Mr. Fennerty discussed Argentine economics in 20 minutes which is actually impossible but he summarized the situation quite well. Argentina began the 20th century as one of the top 10 economies in the world but through decades of political mismanagement is now among the most unstable. Onerous taxation, poor fiscal management and unfriendly business policies have created a very tough economic climate where the current president governs by authoritarian decree. There is huge economic potential here but the risk is all political. Mr. David Mergen is the agricultural counselor at the Embassy and he began by summarizing Argentine agricultural export taxes. This is possibly the most illustrative example of how bad the government here treats agribusiness. Soybeans for export are taxed at 35% – right off the top. As Argentina is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of soybeans this is surely a significant revenue grab for the central government. One area where Argentina shines is education. The literacy rate here is over 97% and a highly educated population provides an excellent platform for potential economic improvement.
After a quick photo opportunity in front of the Embassy gates we boarded another set of cabs for a rush hour trip through downtown Buenos Aries to the Argentine Agriculture Ministry. Some traffic observations: lane markers and signals are treated by drivers as mere suggestions and the brake repair business must thrive here. Our host at the Ag Ministry was Lorenzo Basso, the Secretary of Agriculture for Livestock and Fisheries. Secretary Basso warmly welcomed us to Argentina and stressed the importance of shared educational ties between his country and the U.S. Alejandro Silva is the Chief of Staff for Secretary Basso and he presented Argentine agriculture statistics as well as current information from his recent trip to Brussels and discussions with the European Union. Somewhat surprising, Mr. Silva was quite clear on one major issue: Argentina is aggressively pursuing biotechnology improvements to increase grain crop yields. His position was that Europe would have to accept genetically modified crops if they wish to consume meat, as Argentina supplies them with 60% of their soybeans. Mr. Silva made the point that Argentina wishes to pursue agriculture policies based on science and reason, not misinformation and falsehoods. Mr. Silva had a friendly audience on this point and it appears the Argentines may help the United States by persuading the EU to soften their stance on biotechnology.
Another taxi caravan delivered us to the Hotel Sofitel and lunch sponsored by Rabobank. Cecelia Ordonez and Paula Savanti delivered an energetic presentation covering ag credit and banking in Argentina. One interesting fact is that Argentina and India are roughly the same land size but have vastly different sized populations. Argentina has 14 million people and India has 1 billion. What a difference in population density. Strengths of Argentina are their land size, technology base, educated population, and infrastructure. However, they have to contend with volatile macro-economic issues, a high cost of borrowing, heavy taxes, and an inconsistent legal system. Following this wonderful lunch and discussion we thanked our hosts and dispersed for an afternoon assault on the shopping and cultural destinations of Buenos Aires. The sky was bright blue with golden sunshine and a slight breeze, all making for a beautiful backdrop to explore one of the great cities of the world. We rallied back at the Hotel Emperador for our 7:45 cabs taking us to Bar Sur Tango and the evening meal sponsored by Gerry Salzman and Case IH. Buenos Aires and the tango are inseparable so a visit here is not complete without this wonderful cultural experience. The Class of 2010 thoroughly enjoyed the performance with much laughter, a little wine and many photos to remember the evening.
That’s all for now. Only two days left before we head home and our class will certainly make the most of their remaining time here.