The past two weeks our SDSU
International Agricultural Study experience has been a whirlwind of information
and excitement. As a group we were able to see many different kinds of
management for cattle and cropping systems. Some of these included feedlot
systems along with grazing strategies for cattle and crop rotations that
included flexibility for the different growing climates for crops. For the most
part, Argentina and Uruguay operate much like we do, however there are some
differences. Both countries are full of producers who are trying to produce as
much as they can while trying to maintain efficiency. There are some challenges
to this, especially in Argentina with the lack of a credit system and
restrictions on imports as well as the government taking around 30% of the
profit. Yet much like us, they do what they can and come up with plans that
slowly improve their operations, albeit slower than we can. Uruguay is better
off in the sense of government regulations, yet they still have to plan
according to certain restrictions, such as having a three year crop rotation
plan to submit to the government.
Throughout
our trip we saw yields that were surprising to us given the climate and soil
conditions. Some were fairly comparable to our own yields, given the right
cropping season and management. In the cattle area, seeing the size of the
farms and the amount of cattle they could hold was also surprising. For us in
the upper portion of the country, we need more room for cattle due to our
climate. In Argentina, there is no reason to bed cattle, and in most places we
visited there is not a lot or rain, which results in less room required for
manure buildup. Overall it seems that places can hold more cattle on less acres
in a feedlot while still not packing pens too full.
Each of us
found different areas of interests on our trip, ranging from pasture and
feedlot management to cropping systems. Overall each person came away with a
different outlook from seeing different management practices. By seeing these
differences, we became more aware of our own operations and are able to see
things in a different way which might not have been apparent before. Even
filling water tanks was different, using windmills to pump water into a
container and gravity feeding the water tanks in the cattle pens. Normally we
take electricity and other things for granted and it was insightful to see how
people operate without some of those things.
Going to
Argentina and Uruguay was an experience that can never be taken from us. We
each learned more about farming, from each other, about ourselves and how we
need to adjust when in another culture and away from our traditions and way of
life we are comfortable with, and came away better people for it. There were
down times along with the highs, but that is life and it helped us adapt for
our future. This trip was a success and anyone thinking about an international
study abroad trip should think very strongly about this opportunity or others.
Life is a winding journey to a destination which may or may not change, so why
not explore a little? What fun is the end, you didn’t take any opportunities
available to you and as a result you don’t have good stories to tell about how
you got there?
Brian Van De Stroet
