After putting a week's worth of sunshine in bank, we thankfully cashed in everything today and were extremely fortunate to have the Brazilian weather that was in our minds as we escaped the cold Chicago air the week prior. The morning started out especially early with a wake up call a little before quarter till six. Perhaps, we were dragging a little bit, but we all thought it was worth it for the opportunity of spending more time at Iguazu Falls. Upon arriving we applied our sunscreen, dawned our sunglasses and grabbed our plastic bags for what was going to be a sunny and wet stay at the national park. The gift shop was the place to be while waiting for the tickets and bus to come, and we scouted out the best souvenirs to take home as gifts. First on the itinerary was a boat ride into the heart of the Falls. As I have mentioned before it is the rainy season, so we expected to get pretty wet on this trip. The boat was an inflatable one that looked like a white water raft, only in the shape of a boat. It was pretty impressive to check out the engines before we got on as well, I don't know what they were, but there were two, and they were big. Once the 20 seats were filled, we took off on the river towards the falls a few kilometers away. The river was peaceful, and hardly showed an signs great waterfalls upstream, but as soon as we turned the bend, there they were, a white cascade of water between the cliffs making up the edges of the river. We soon got closer and saw that the first photo opportunity was on our right looking at a set of falls on the Argentina side. About a hundred feet tall, and coming out all sides of the mountain, it was hard to believe that at that moment, what we were looking at was just a fraction of the whole picture. Once the photo-opp was over, we handed over our cameras and put them in a water proof bag at the back of the boat, the fun was about to begin.
Hear is where the two large motors enter into the picture. We approach the falls futher up towards the main part called Devil's Throat. To the right we are starring at more water that is pouring over into the river, and at this point we could just feel a little mist. The driver put it on full throttle and we went right up into the falls, just a few yards from being directly under the water. He circled into the cloud of mist and popped right back out again. It was quite a loud rush. After a few more times of that, and a little enticement from John in the back we headed through the heavy mist into the deeper part of the falls and even closer to the Devil's Throat. By now we were in some rapids, and it took just about all the engines had to keep us in one spot as we gazed at the falling water that was surrounding us on three sides. In little time, the boat turned around and heading back to the safer waters, but not without a fight. The rapids got us, and as the boat came down after pointing into the sky from a wake, we were momentarily drenched as it spilled over on all sides. The experience was unforgetable, we were wet, but that is what the trail was for; to see the falls from above.
It started at the southern most point, around where the first Argentina side was visable. A few falls were visable when we looked straight out from the trail, but the best was ahead. The falls kept getting taller, wider, and faster; and as the descent of the trail was coming we could start to see the platform that was positioned above some of the fastest water. During this 1200 meter walk, a lot of picture were taken, and it would be safe to say that between the 12 of us, 1500 was a pretty attainable number for the Iguazu Falls tour. Once we reached the walkway to the overhang, the mist was pouring down the mountain just as it had from the boat, just as everyone was dry too. But it was worth getting wet again to walk out over the rushing water to peak over the cascade and see below. We were worried about the cameras getting wet on the boat, but they were out here, getting soaked from the mist. Quite an amazing site. Iguazu had one last surprise for as we continued back on the path. When the engineers built this tourist hub, a tower and observation deck was put just a few feet from the biggest waterfall in the park. You could stand at the edge and see in amazement the 450,000 gallons of water flowing over the edge every second. A breathtaking view.
The day was full of excitement and we thought that perhaps we would never see anything so spectacular again, well at least not in Illinois.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Special Thank You
During the evening we went out for our farewell dinner, and after a tremendous Itialian supper, I think Nadial saved the best for last, we formally concluded the trip by presenting gifts and appreciation to those who helped us through this study abroad trip. Winderson, our bus driver was honored first. Although there is a language barrier between us, during the week all of us had a many good laughs over perhaps more elementary means of communication. It was impressive though, that while eating a meal, a couple of us were able to banter back and forth with each other and have a good time. He transported us safely through the crowded downtown streets, muddy red dirt roads and the scenic highways of the Brazilian countryside, and for that we are thankful.
Next, was Nadial, the tenacious tour guide of profound passion, who strives to educate students and professionals to brigde the gap between two agrarian countries. During our stay we were treated like royalty, dining in quality restaurents and lodging in some of Parana's best hotels. Although we were a half a world away, he tried to make us at home. His knowledge about agriculture and the differences between the U.S. and Brazil, makes our learning experience much richer. We have appreciated all that he has done for us.
John receieved our thanks last. He has served as our faculty advisor from Illinois, however, most of us had not known him much before the trip. As we have come to find out, his presence has greatly added to the cultural comparisions that can be learned on such a journey. His life lessons and tips were always a pleasure to listen to. Although he was born and raised on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin, we now know that he a quite the world traveler and has a healthy appetite for always learning something new. His great spirit is something all of us have really enjoyed.
I would also like to make a very special thank you to Erin Stein for doing a lot of the behind the scenes work that made our trip run smoothly and made the University of Illinois look very well represented. She did a great job planning meetings and speakers that informed us of what to expect and what would be expected of us. She also organized for each tour guide, farmer and business representative to be thanked with a gift from Illinois. Her work has been greatly appreciated.
Tomorrow we have will visit a statue that marks the intersection of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, so we can say we have visited all of those countries!! After that we will loosen up our legs at a park near Iguazu before we board our first plane for home.
It has been an unbelievable, interesting and enjoyable international agriculture experience and a privilege to be able to share it.
Next, was Nadial, the tenacious tour guide of profound passion, who strives to educate students and professionals to brigde the gap between two agrarian countries. During our stay we were treated like royalty, dining in quality restaurents and lodging in some of Parana's best hotels. Although we were a half a world away, he tried to make us at home. His knowledge about agriculture and the differences between the U.S. and Brazil, makes our learning experience much richer. We have appreciated all that he has done for us.
John receieved our thanks last. He has served as our faculty advisor from Illinois, however, most of us had not known him much before the trip. As we have come to find out, his presence has greatly added to the cultural comparisions that can be learned on such a journey. His life lessons and tips were always a pleasure to listen to. Although he was born and raised on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin, we now know that he a quite the world traveler and has a healthy appetite for always learning something new. His great spirit is something all of us have really enjoyed.
I would also like to make a very special thank you to Erin Stein for doing a lot of the behind the scenes work that made our trip run smoothly and made the University of Illinois look very well represented. She did a great job planning meetings and speakers that informed us of what to expect and what would be expected of us. She also organized for each tour guide, farmer and business representative to be thanked with a gift from Illinois. Her work has been greatly appreciated.
Tomorrow we have will visit a statue that marks the intersection of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, so we can say we have visited all of those countries!! After that we will loosen up our legs at a park near Iguazu before we board our first plane for home.
It has been an unbelievable, interesting and enjoyable international agriculture experience and a privilege to be able to share it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A Real Brazilian Experience
Dominating the northeastern part of Parana state is a cooperative that makes up 272,000 Ha, more than 600,000 acres. (We are getting very good at quick conversion estimates, we've come to a consensus that the U.S. should just switch to the metric system). It is called Cocamar Cooperative and is the largest in Brazil. The 6100 members grow the primary commodities of corn, soybeans, wheat, coffee, and oranges. The characteristic that sets Cocamar apart from other cooperatives that we have visited, besides their size, is their value-added products. An interesting fact about Cocamar is the brand awareness that it has among consumers. It ranks number 4 in that catagory for the state of Parana, just behind Audi Cars. This is evident when you see their line of juices, coffee, and vegetable oil. We were privelaged to tour the juice plant and see how they turned local products from the cooperative and within the state into very high quality and tasty juices. We know this because we got to sample their entire line. About half were fruits that are native to Brazil or South America, and the rest were familiar flavors such as grape and orange. The difference was significant though. Cocamar's juice is much more pure, natural sweetness, than a sugary sweetness. A couple even had a smoothy like consistantcy that was really good to drink. We also were able to see their soy oil production plant. This product is the more popular one for Cocamar, and is distributed throughout Brazil as one of the top vegetable oils.
One interesting part about our visits to places like Cocamar is to hear their history, and how they came to be so successful amid a country that has had its struggles. From the time of the first Portuguese settlement a few centuries ago, until the 1990s, Brazil has had economic, social and political hardship that is almost a curse. With each new rise in a slightly different government, or leader, comes more of the same; a sustained and constant gap between the upper class and the lower class that is of epic proportions. During the first exploration of Brazil, in an effort to grab up as much land as possible, the Portuguese government gave away massive amounts to individuals, sometimes in excess of hundreds of thousands of hectares at a time. This created a few really rich people and everyone else has been in the lower class. Many things have changed, but this reality is still true; the economy, currency and financing have not been stable for most citizens. What does this have to do with coops and agriculture? Well, up until 1998, Brazil's currency was seeing hyperinflation that was hundreds of percents each year. New currencies were created at the rate of every few years and nobody had any confidence in the value of their currency. Such an economy cannot utilize its bountiful natural resources without foreign investment and multinational companies. But with the creation of the Real in 1998, and a strict, consice plan to turn the economy around, President Cardoso (one of the first democratically elected presidents of Brazil) was able to finally stimulate and produce like never before. This issue came up as we listened to the presentation at Cocamar. They mentioned that they were in the red in 1997-1998, but when they were finally able to sit down with the bank and reach a settlement, they calculated that the bank actually owed them money, an example to the uncertainty in finance and banking that was present. Today, Brazil is thriving like never before. We have talked with a dozen or so businesses, and I have asked many of them, how has the past year been for business, has there been growth or have things slowed done. The overall response is growth, ranging from 8% to 30% over the previous year. Brazil does have its "warts" as John Santos would say, but the overall vibe that we have gotten from our numerous visits is that, indeed, it is an exciting time to be involved in Brazilian agriculture and agribusiness.
The day ended sitting poolside under the Brazilian stars having a conversation about what we enjoyed most, and giving Nadial some feedback on what would make the trip better in the future. It was nice to look back on our whirlwind tour of Parana, and really gage the whole scope of everything we experienced. One observation that we had was just how well it was organized, and how much everything flowed perfectly. For instance, the part we enjoyed most, that Nadial suspected we would, was a few days after we had gotten over the jet lag, and into the Brazilian culture, and were therefore much more capable of having great conversations with the Terasawa family. Starting out with the port was perfect as well, each point after that related back to marketing and logistics, and when they mentioned Paranagua Bay, not only did we know where it was at, we got a boat tour of it and talked with a commercial manager there. Nadial gave us great proportions for each destination, not too much or little, just enough to really engage us the whole time we were touring. Traveling to Brazil is a quite a trip, and without a great tour guide like him, who not only knows the area, but used to work for and still does consulting with most of the companies we visited, is a special experience.
We have gone at it pretty hard for the last 8 days. Now, as our journey is coming to an end we are waking up bright and early in the morning to experience one of the world's natural wonders, Iguazzu Falls. Outside of about a day, it has been cloudy or raining for most of the trip. Although that might has dampened the mood elsewhere, we got through it, and perhaps tomorrow it could pay off. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Brazil's rivers don't flow to the ocean, but inland, and most in the area end up cascading over Iguazzu Falls, and that means that the river is going to be roaring at a high rate tomorrow. With a little luck, we might even get to use the sunshine that we have been putting in the bank for the past week.
All for now.
One interesting part about our visits to places like Cocamar is to hear their history, and how they came to be so successful amid a country that has had its struggles. From the time of the first Portuguese settlement a few centuries ago, until the 1990s, Brazil has had economic, social and political hardship that is almost a curse. With each new rise in a slightly different government, or leader, comes more of the same; a sustained and constant gap between the upper class and the lower class that is of epic proportions. During the first exploration of Brazil, in an effort to grab up as much land as possible, the Portuguese government gave away massive amounts to individuals, sometimes in excess of hundreds of thousands of hectares at a time. This created a few really rich people and everyone else has been in the lower class. Many things have changed, but this reality is still true; the economy, currency and financing have not been stable for most citizens. What does this have to do with coops and agriculture? Well, up until 1998, Brazil's currency was seeing hyperinflation that was hundreds of percents each year. New currencies were created at the rate of every few years and nobody had any confidence in the value of their currency. Such an economy cannot utilize its bountiful natural resources without foreign investment and multinational companies. But with the creation of the Real in 1998, and a strict, consice plan to turn the economy around, President Cardoso (one of the first democratically elected presidents of Brazil) was able to finally stimulate and produce like never before. This issue came up as we listened to the presentation at Cocamar. They mentioned that they were in the red in 1997-1998, but when they were finally able to sit down with the bank and reach a settlement, they calculated that the bank actually owed them money, an example to the uncertainty in finance and banking that was present. Today, Brazil is thriving like never before. We have talked with a dozen or so businesses, and I have asked many of them, how has the past year been for business, has there been growth or have things slowed done. The overall response is growth, ranging from 8% to 30% over the previous year. Brazil does have its "warts" as John Santos would say, but the overall vibe that we have gotten from our numerous visits is that, indeed, it is an exciting time to be involved in Brazilian agriculture and agribusiness.
The day ended sitting poolside under the Brazilian stars having a conversation about what we enjoyed most, and giving Nadial some feedback on what would make the trip better in the future. It was nice to look back on our whirlwind tour of Parana, and really gage the whole scope of everything we experienced. One observation that we had was just how well it was organized, and how much everything flowed perfectly. For instance, the part we enjoyed most, that Nadial suspected we would, was a few days after we had gotten over the jet lag, and into the Brazilian culture, and were therefore much more capable of having great conversations with the Terasawa family. Starting out with the port was perfect as well, each point after that related back to marketing and logistics, and when they mentioned Paranagua Bay, not only did we know where it was at, we got a boat tour of it and talked with a commercial manager there. Nadial gave us great proportions for each destination, not too much or little, just enough to really engage us the whole time we were touring. Traveling to Brazil is a quite a trip, and without a great tour guide like him, who not only knows the area, but used to work for and still does consulting with most of the companies we visited, is a special experience.
We have gone at it pretty hard for the last 8 days. Now, as our journey is coming to an end we are waking up bright and early in the morning to experience one of the world's natural wonders, Iguazzu Falls. Outside of about a day, it has been cloudy or raining for most of the trip. Although that might has dampened the mood elsewhere, we got through it, and perhaps tomorrow it could pay off. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Brazil's rivers don't flow to the ocean, but inland, and most in the area end up cascading over Iguazzu Falls, and that means that the river is going to be roaring at a high rate tomorrow. With a little luck, we might even get to use the sunshine that we have been putting in the bank for the past week.
All for now.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Logging and Paper
Only one stop on our itinerary for a Wednesday, and that was Klabin Paper Products, located in the heart of the Parana. It was forestry, pulp and paper products conglomerate that is located around the world. We visited their primary South American facility on its 270,000 Ha property. That converts to almost 700,000 acres of forest land. We got the grand tour of several different divisions in the corporation. From research, to pharmaceutical products for the nearby town, to the company cafeteria and finally the biomass and paper manufacturing building.
We all thought that it was a unique opportunity to get a tour inside the paper processing plant. The tour guide let us get just a couple yard from the giant spools that were shooting the paper down the pressing line at 900 meters per second. We walked down the 300 yard building to the end of the process and saw the giant paper rolls that made the finishing product. The finished rolls weighted up to 60 tons, and were the size of a semi trailer. The next room we went in was the storage facility and it housed thousands of these massive rolls. It is a hard image to describe, but there was a railway going through the building, and it had ten cars that they were loading up with these rolls. I would estimate that 20,000 paper rolls were housed there, stacked up to 6 high.
The electricity for the entire facility was equal to three times a town that we stayed in, which had a population of 350,000 inhabitants.
Before our day began, most of us had little background knowledge about what went into the paper that we use on a daily basis. But today we found out that it takes a lot of land, labor and capital to the paper we use.
Tomorrow is another farmer cooperative, and then off to Iguazzu Falls!!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Cooperatives
With each new day we continue to compare and contrast America and Brazil, in order to sharpen our intuitive skills, and perhaps learn bits of useful information or techniques that can be improved upon in Illinois and the U.S. A more in depth look at cooperatives was the storyline for today, as Ross outlined below, but I would just like to clear up the mud a little bit on my post about the ABC's of grain (not to be confused with ABC Foundation, a research organization founded by the farmers, for the farmers, that acts as an Extension like source for the three area cooperatives.)
The post about the ABC's primarily talks about the struggles with grain logistics that Brazil has. I mentioned not seeing any elevators on our drive, and the presence of the prominent multinational companies. The cooperatives in Parana, fill this hole that I had not realized until today. Cooperatives such as Arapoti, Batavo, and Castrolanda, the three that make up ABC, serve as the only grain marketing options for the members. They have strong infrastructure in the Parana region and it is a service that farmers in this region are proud of their system and believe it is an efficient way for production.
In Mota Grossa, you will find ADM, Bunge, Cargill; with the extremely wide basis of price. It is a more American version of agriculture, where the large cooperatives such as the Dutch ones we visited today are not established.
Tomorrow includes a visit to the largest cooperative in Brazil, which will be an impressive sight after seeing a good sized town built around we were at today. The journey continues.
Dutch Colonies in Brazil
Another busy today in the Brazilian state of Parana. We started the morning by visiting Romi farms in the Dutch Cooperative of Castrolanda. The farm started as a dairy farm but converted to a grain farm in 1972. Ten years later the farm converted to 100% no-till. Romi farms they produce soybeans, dry beans, and corn during the summer and oats and wheat during the winter. It was very interesting that they use the same row spacing for both soybean and corn planting.
The next stop was the ABC foundation which does research and develops as solutions for the Dutch cooperatives.
After lunch we toured the Castrolanda cooperative facilities in Castro. The receiving facilities were similar to those in the states except they use wood to fuel the dryer. Then we walked across the street to the Dutch Immigration Memorial. We went up in a windmill and learned about the heritage of the Dutch immigrants.
The last stop of the day before going to the hotel was Selvaverde Dairy. They currently have 730 cows in lactation and milk twice a day. Their cows average 28 L of milk/cow/day. Their feed is mainly corn silage and ryegrass.
Boa noite.
Ross Recker
Crop Science - 2012
Monday, January 11, 2010
ABC's of Brazilian Grain
Through day 6 of our journey we have seen a few levels of Brazilian agriculture. From the downstream activities of the Paranague Bay Port and famers market, to the upstream business of production agriculture at Witmarsum, as well as the middle marketing of FT Sementes, the scope of our studies has included several realizations of how agriculture operates in Parana and Brazil.
One great example of this first occured to several of us as we arrived in Ponta Grossa, a couple days ago. As we had just finished the tour of Witmarsum, our interest had peaked, and we began instensely studying our surroundings on our way to the next destination. A couple examples were mentioned earlier, the much hillier terrain that resembled Wisconsin and the difficulty of moving machinery over the land. But as we got into Ponta Grossa, on the very edge of town, were massive grain storage facilities. We have grown up in rural Illinois, and seen elevators inland and along rivers, but never had any of us seen so many places to store grain in one place. You see a set of bins, and shed containers, and then another and another, then you turn and look out the other side of the bus and can see an equal amount. Another thing that we noticed, not once, from Curitiba to Ponta Grossa (an hour and a half drive) did we see a single elevator in the country side. One last thing that we thought of, on our train ride down the mountains to the port, the tour guide mentioned that all rivers (execpt one) do not run to the ocean, but instead they flow inland to Iguassu Falls. So not only do we realize that there are no elevators that are easily accessable like in the United States, there is not an easy means of logistics for any corn or soybeans grown inland from the ocean. The director at the port told us, 50% of grain coming into the port was by truck and 20% was coming by train, a very inefficient means of logistics.
Where does all of this come together? Several places, the first one Mauricio let us in on, and it is the title of this post, the ABC's. And they are, ADM, Bunge, and Cargill. Together they make a good chunk of grain logistics in Brazil, and were the facilities that I described above as we entered Ponta Grossa. And the second has to do with a better understanding of the struggles Brazilian agriculture has. Often you hear of Americans coming to Brazil and managing large farm operations. This takes place in the west Cerrado region of Mota Grossa, a state in Brazil. Besides the different soil conditions, the region is an open plane, similiar to Illinois. It boasts some of the biggest soybean farms and farmers in the world. But when you take a look at the equation that I have laid out above, those soybeans, for the most part, make a 1400 mile journey to Paranagua Bay to the port. Still speaking on broad terms, when you sell soybeans in Mota Grossa, the price is based on the Chicago Board of Trade. For instance, say today's price is $10, when you go to the elevator in Mota Grossa, an ABC firm, you don't get a 15 cent, 20 cent, or 30 cent basis, but a $4 to $6 basis! This was yet another lesson that we have learned from Mauricio about the differences between America and Brazil in terms of production agriculture.
When we were discussing those massive grain bins as we entered Ponta Grossa, and thinking through what we had learned, we could only come to one conclusion; we are very fortunate in Illinois. Not only can we take our grain to an elevator 10 minutes away, but we can take it to several elevators in that amount of time, and even straight to the river. Our river system is something Brazil does not have, and it greatly increased transportation costs. We have a lot to be thankful for in Illinois.
One great example of this first occured to several of us as we arrived in Ponta Grossa, a couple days ago. As we had just finished the tour of Witmarsum, our interest had peaked, and we began instensely studying our surroundings on our way to the next destination. A couple examples were mentioned earlier, the much hillier terrain that resembled Wisconsin and the difficulty of moving machinery over the land. But as we got into Ponta Grossa, on the very edge of town, were massive grain storage facilities. We have grown up in rural Illinois, and seen elevators inland and along rivers, but never had any of us seen so many places to store grain in one place. You see a set of bins, and shed containers, and then another and another, then you turn and look out the other side of the bus and can see an equal amount. Another thing that we noticed, not once, from Curitiba to Ponta Grossa (an hour and a half drive) did we see a single elevator in the country side. One last thing that we thought of, on our train ride down the mountains to the port, the tour guide mentioned that all rivers (execpt one) do not run to the ocean, but instead they flow inland to Iguassu Falls. So not only do we realize that there are no elevators that are easily accessable like in the United States, there is not an easy means of logistics for any corn or soybeans grown inland from the ocean. The director at the port told us, 50% of grain coming into the port was by truck and 20% was coming by train, a very inefficient means of logistics.
Where does all of this come together? Several places, the first one Mauricio let us in on, and it is the title of this post, the ABC's. And they are, ADM, Bunge, and Cargill. Together they make a good chunk of grain logistics in Brazil, and were the facilities that I described above as we entered Ponta Grossa. And the second has to do with a better understanding of the struggles Brazilian agriculture has. Often you hear of Americans coming to Brazil and managing large farm operations. This takes place in the west Cerrado region of Mota Grossa, a state in Brazil. Besides the different soil conditions, the region is an open plane, similiar to Illinois. It boasts some of the biggest soybean farms and farmers in the world. But when you take a look at the equation that I have laid out above, those soybeans, for the most part, make a 1400 mile journey to Paranagua Bay to the port. Still speaking on broad terms, when you sell soybeans in Mota Grossa, the price is based on the Chicago Board of Trade. For instance, say today's price is $10, when you go to the elevator in Mota Grossa, an ABC firm, you don't get a 15 cent, 20 cent, or 30 cent basis, but a $4 to $6 basis! This was yet another lesson that we have learned from Mauricio about the differences between America and Brazil in terms of production agriculture.
When we were discussing those massive grain bins as we entered Ponta Grossa, and thinking through what we had learned, we could only come to one conclusion; we are very fortunate in Illinois. Not only can we take our grain to an elevator 10 minutes away, but we can take it to several elevators in that amount of time, and even straight to the river. Our river system is something Brazil does not have, and it greatly increased transportation costs. We have a lot to be thankful for in Illinois.
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