On my recent trip to Brazil, hosted by Commstock Investments, I had the chance to travel with a few Iowa farmers who came along on the trip to see what there was to learn about agriculture in Brazil. Having that perspective of being in the second largest Ag state in the U.S., gives them a chance to understand how Brazilians are different in their production.
Mike Oberbroeckling is a farmer up in Clayton County. He talked about how the farmers have a different mindset from American farmers. Not in a negative way. It is just that American farmers are often four or more generations removed from when their farmland was developed. Whereas the Brazilians are still first and some second-generation producers who had a hand in getting the operation set up.
Mike?s Wife Barbara spent much of the trip taking copious notes on what she saw, so she could share the information when she returned home. She talked about how impressed she was when she saw how coffee and cotton were produced. How labor intensive it is. These are crops that we don?t deal with in Iowa.
Ann Neppel farms with her husband Mark in Northwest Iowa. She talked about how she was impressed with the magnitude of the operations and how they can produce all year long.
Ann adds that the Brazilian farmers we met were looking at their U.S. counterparts as future partners in feeding the world, not as competitors that they had to be better than. The Brazilians really do not take the responsibility of helping to feed the world lightly.
All the farmers on this trip encourage other Iowa farmers to take the opportunity to go to Brazil if they can. We need to learn where our similarities lie, because we have an entire globe to feed, and many don?t understand where their food and clothing come from.
