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.