Day 9 - January 6, 2013

Today was a free day to roam around Rosario. As it is Sunday, most of the shops and attractions are closed so that leaves time for outside activities. Some students went on a long journey to find a beach. After a long walk and no sunscreen they also found some pretty good sunburns as well...aloe anyone? But they said it was worth it to be able to see more of the town. Others went to find a local park, it didn't take very long because it wasn't very big, but at least they said it was pretty.

In the evening half of the group went to a great restaurant recommended by some of the locals, it is called McDonalds. Because this is the first tourist-type town, it was the first American eatery we have found so needless to say several people jumped at the chance.

Rosario is a large city that was clearly built in the 1800s. Even though several of the buildings have modern shops on the first floor, the second and third floors have beautiful detail and architecture.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day, are visiting the shipping port, a machinery manufacturer, and also a large research feedlot, then we will move onto the next town. As always we will keep you updated.

-Stacy Scramlin

Day 8 - January 5, 2013

Hola Amigos!!!!

     This is Trish and Kelsey reporting live from Argentina!!! Got to an early start this Saturday morning, loaded the bus at 7:45 and headed for our first farm visit. It was cloudy when we left Trenque Lauquen but an hour later when we arrive at "El Silbibo" the sun was shining. The feedlot manager Jaime Lyford Pike greeted us. This feedlot is owned by an elderly woman who lives in France but will come to Argentina a few months out of the year. The whole operation is 60,000 hectares where they grow 500 hectares of corn, 2,000 hectares of soybeans, and 500 hectares of barley. The barley is harvested and 300 hectares goes towards their feedlot operation. They also have 6,000 cows along with tree and rice projects. This company has a total of 60 employees but only 6 work at this location.

     For their feedlot operation, they raise their own calves and put them into the feedlot after they are weaned at 80kg. Some of those cattle are finished by grazing on alfalfa from October to March while the rest of the cattle are finished in the feedlot. They have a rotational grazing system and the cattle out on alfalfa and are moved every day. To prevent bloat they administer a bloat guard which is put into the water. They have three different finishing weights that they go by. Females are finished to 330 kg and the males are finished at either 350 or 410. The finishing weight depends on the year and prices also, some heifers are kept as replacements. There are 4,000 cattle on site today and consume a finishing ration of barley, wheat middlings, sunflower pellets, and urea. They feed the cattle twice a day and the operation's goal is for them to gain 1 kg/day to reach a market weight around 330 kg by February.

     We loaded back up. on the bus and Miguel took us to our next farm visit. The name of this farm is "La Pastora" and Martin Galligo welcomed us. This a family company consisting of a father and his two sons. They own 760 hectares with their main crops being corn and soybeans along with barley, sorghum, and sunflower. They had 250 head in the lots today and will circulate 900 head per year and finish at a weight of 300-330 kg. The cattle market price now is 11 pesos/kg. Of the cattle in the lots, 30% of the calves are home raised while the rest they bought. The 280 head of cows are kept on 700 hectares of pasture that they rent. They AI their cows this year and the semen was from the United States.

     We stopped at a very busy bus stop for lunch and got back on the bus to log another 4 hours as we head for Rosario.

Just another great, warm day in Argentina! This is Trish Ollerich and Kelsey Begalka signing out! :)

Day 7 - January 4, 2013

Today is Friday, January 4th.  Last night was our first night in Trenque Laquen and today is our second day with Ms. Nora Kugler as our tour guide.  Nora is an animal nutritionist that works for a feed supplement company.  To begin our day we traveled to La Criolla on what seemed like 30 km of rough dirt roads.  La Criolla is a 2500 Ha operation that consists of cropland and a 26,000 hd feedlot.  The operation has been in the same family for 99 years but the feedlot was only built in 2005.  Since that time production has increased 55% and there are plans to increase the feedlot size to hold 42,000.

We toured one of the 3 corrals on the premises where gauchos were vaccinating calves for pinkeye and respiratory diseases.  The calves arrived from north of Buenos Aires a month prior and have been on pasture since.  Following today's vaccination they will be moved to feedlot pens.  The calves will be fed varying rations of corn silage, hay, sunflower pellets, and corn grain until finishing at 330 kg (730 lbs).  Cattle are finished at a much lower weight than in the USA because the market in Argentina values animals at a much younger age and lower weight.  It was interesting to note that feedlot pens were cleaned for the first time ever this year due to the excessive rainfall.  The operation was well-maintained and appeared to be well operated.  The owner has spent money to install environmental protection structures such as manure lagoons even though that is not presently required by the Argentinian government.  Following the tour we were treated to a meal of sauteed beef sandwiches, wine, and ice cream...the hospitality down here continues to be great!

Our next stop was going to be a large ranch near Trenque Laquen that produces beef for export which is an uncommon practice in Argentina at this time. The weather, however, had other plans for us and rain made the roads unsuitable for travel with the bus. Now we will spend the rest of the day exploring Trenque Laquen. We are all looking forward to another day of ranch visits and our trip to Rosario tomorrow.

-Shaina Sabel & Jon Kleinjan

Day 6 - January 3, 2013

We started the day at the Fossati's newest rented ranch the La Maria.  This ranch is located 40 km from Don Poncho (the first Fossati ranch we stopped at).  This ranch doesn't have any equipment on it so they have to bring equipment there from the other ranch.  La Maria has 1000 hectares dedicated to crops and cattle.  This trip was focused more on the cattle side.

First they showed us their silage pile.  They "strip graze" their silage by moving an electric fence closer to the silage pile as they eat it.  The silage and pasture are sources of feed in the winter.

In the summer they graze planted fescue/wheatgrass pastures.  These they also strip graze by moving them between smaller paddocks every two to three days.  They just started renting the land we were looking at, so they still had some corn stalks in the fields from when it was used as a cropped acreage.  They mow whatever hasn't been grazed at the end of the season to help the forage come back.

They artificially inseminate the cows and use clean up bulls for 60 days.  Most of their semen comes from the United States.  They choose genetics for medium framed cows and are looking at marbling as well (even though they don't have quality grades).  Their clean up bulls are self-produced and they also sell some to other producers.  Cows that don't get bred get culled.

They also showed us their heifers that were grazing on alfalfa.  They strip graze the alfalfa too.  They use Rumensin and bloat guard pellets.

Then we had lunch in Catrilo.  They served us beef, salads, fries and ice cream.  Everything was tasty.

Our second stop was the La Alicia near Tres Lomas.  The two brothers showed us their feedlot system.  They own two other ranches in other parts of the area and employ 14 people.  One of the operations they own is for cow-calf pairs and the other is a dairy.  The calves come to the Tres Lomas location to be fattened in the feedlot or on "grass".  They usually fatten them on alfalfa.  Their La Alicia ranch also has crops.

The La Alicia feeds out about 3000 head per year.  Some of the calves they feed out are Corriente influenced that they raise on their Northern Argentina ranch location.  These calves are usually early weaned and weigh about 80 kg (about 180 lbs).  They also have a mix of Angus and Herefords.  These are fed on alfalfa.  They graze their alfalfa in a rotation and try to have about 35,000 kg of cows/acre.  They rotate every day and they have enough paddocks for a 30-day rotation.

Then we went to the brother's cousin's dairy--Tambo Don Mauricio.  This is a very progressive dairy in the area.  The first sight we saw was their nursery.  All of the calves have chips in their ears that act as an ID.  These IDs keep track of how much the calves have eaten and stops them from eating too much.  It also alerts the farmers when calves have not eaten enough.  They are fed 7 liters per day.  The farmers watch them carefully for disease.

They showed us their milking herds and how they are split between dry cows, milking cows, almost dry cows, and sick cows.  They explained their ration systems and showed us their milking parlor.  As well as we could figure, it was an swing parlor with 18 cows on each side.  Their milk gets picked up two times a day by different companies.  Some of the milk goes to cheese and the rest for consumption.

We traveled to Tranque Lauquen and ate dinner at Nora's house.  She served us empanadas, and rice with either chicken or beef, and for dessert--cookies with dulce de leche and cream, flan, and a type of jelly roll with dulce de leche. Yum!

-Sarah Sample and Emily Helms

Day 5 - January 2, 2013

The morning started bright and early with us being on the bus at 9:00 am ready to leave. We drove about an hour on what seemed like some of the better roads in Argentina. We met with Sabastion, a crop consultant, and one of his growers, Martin De Blasi. On this farm they grow corn, soybeans, sunflower and sorghum, and is about 800 hectares, or 2000 acres. De Blasi also buys some cattle to feed out every year, unfortunately he is going to lose money feeding cows this year. When they feed out cows they let them graze on alfalfa and in the pasture, and typically sell the cows around 400 kg or 880 lbs. Also at this farm, they practice no-till to conserve as much water as possible and reduce soil erosion due to the wind. It seems like it is about as windy here as it is back in South Dakota. Erosion is a huge factor because the soil texture is composed of at least 60% sand, 10% clay, and 30% lime.

Sebastion and De Blasi took us out to show us some of De Blasi's crops and cattle. He rotated between corn and soybeans on some of his better fields. The yields of the better fields are around 2 ton/hectare for soybeans and 8 ton/hectare for corn. They apply about 100 kg/ha of urea and 50 kg/ha of phosphorus to their corn acres. Down here they do not fertilize their beans.

Following the tour of the land, we arrived at De Blasi's home and were introduced to the rest of his family--Maria Emilia De Blasi (sister), Alberta De Blasi (father), Susy De Blasi (mother), and his three children. After being greeted by everyone, lunch was served to the group and consisted of sausage on a bun, condiments, and a drink. Everyone was offered a bowl of freshly cut fruit, as a desert. The group then sat around relaxing and conversing with all of the De Blasi's and Sebastian. We are very thankful for their hospitality, kindness, and educational information.

Our next stop was at Cereales Quemu. This place is a Dekalb seed dealer and Monsanto chemical dealer. They also sell fertilizer, purchase grain, consult on 25,000 ha (61,750 acres), and even purchase cattle for slaughter. It was interesting how many different entities they were involved in. They operate 3 different elevators, to help with efficiencies. We toured one elevator that was very similar to a common grain elevator in the US, but looked to be 50-100 years old. After the tour of the elevator we went and looked at soybeans, sunflowers, and corn. The soybeans were planted in 14 inch rows, at a population similar to the US. Also, the soybeans are a 4.4 maturity, which is really long. The maturity of the corn is 150 days, which is also very long compared to the US. The reason for the longer maturity is the longer growing season they have in Argentina.

After our successful day of tours, we took the ride back to Santa Rosa and got dropped off at the town square. Here we were able to do some shopping and eat supper. We all made it back to the hotel and now it is time for bed, as we are preparing to leave in the morning. Goodnight from Santa Rosa.

Shane Runge and Jeff Miiller

Day 4 - January 1, 2013

        It was a great way to ring in the new year with a very relaxing day with our major host, Alejandro and his family. Because it is a holiday pretty much the whole country is shut down so there was little we could do in the way of tours or farm visits. Therefore, we spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening at Alejandro's home where we could use  the pool, play with his children, and enjoy delicious food! The sun was out and swiming in the pool was a great way for everyone to cool off. The Fassati's even joined us later in the afternoon with more food!

        Before we left several of the student presented gifts to Alejandro for all the work he has done to make this the best experience possible. We have to give our hosts credit for being extremely gracious in offering gifts, services, and some of the nicest gestures. We could not have such a wonderful trip without them and they truly make the whole experience. We will be back to farm visits tomorrow and look forward to reporting more.

-Stacy Scramlin

Day 3 - December 31, 2012

        On December 31 the farm visit that we had planned did not work due to rain the previous night and the road was too muddy for the bus to get there.  We spent our day touring around the town of Santa Rosa.  We went to the town center or square where the majority of their shops are located. We went to a Gaucho store which is similar to our Western clothing stores where they sell the clothing and other items that the gauchos use. It was very interesting to see the differences in what they use compared to what a cowboy in the U.S. would use. They use a lot of rawhide; their ropes and headstalls/halters are made of rawhide. Some students purchased items to give as gifts to people at home. There were also stores similar to the ones in the U.S. where you could buy clothes and many other items.  In the center of town they have a plaza with a statue dedicated to San Martin, a famous war figure who helped them gain their independence.

Most of us ate at a pizzeria.  It was a fun experience trying to order in spanish and trying to understand the menu.  Some people were slightly surprised when their order came.  The pizza is good but different, it has less sauce, a crust more like a flatbread, and comes with one green olive on each slice.  We have also learned to order water sin gas so that we don't get carbonated water.

Many of us also walked over to a nearby lake and park.  Two braves jumped in the lake.  The park was slightly run down with a few stray dogs and horses. There were people roller blading along the streets and people windsurfing on the lake.  The locals seemed to be enjoying the beautiful weather, as were we.

We celebrated the new year at the Fossati's home.  They were very gracious hosts.  They had a ton of food which was all delicious.  Some of the students showed the families how to jitterbug and two-step.  There were also fireworks throughout the town at midnight to help ring in the new year.  We all wished each other a "muy feliz ano nuevo."

Some students chose to go with the Fossati's daughters who are close to our age to a New Years dance. It was fun to see the culture and social interactions of the locals of our own age. The dance was at huge building called "The Castlle" there were approximately 10,000 people at the event. People were dancing inside and outside and even though we could not understand the music we all had a great time.
Overall the day was both fun and relaxing!

-Tom Erickson & Jerylin Reed