A delegation of Iowa farmers are personally visiting several farms and agricultural facilities in west central Mato Grosso including:
- Morena Farms near Campo Novo (they all got to hop aboard combines and do some harvesting!)
- A farm and processing facility operated by Bom Futuroa near Sapezal. Bom Futuroa is Brazil’s second largest soybean producer, growing more than 1.4 million acres (or nearly 580,000 hectares).
- Tour by boat of the Amazon River near Manaus (major export route for Brazilian soy and other agricultural commodities)
- Stoping and visiting with John Deere implement dealer reps in Campo Novo.
- Tour of a sugar cane ethanol plant operated by Coprodia (opening corn-based ethanol operation at same facility in April-May).
- Visits with representatives of Federation of Agriculture of Mato Grosso and Aprosoja (soybean and corn farmers association of Mato Grosso); both are located in Cuiaba.
Here’s a photo from a visit at Morena Farms near Campo Novo, Brazil. From left: Tim Bardole (Rippey), Brent Swart (Spencer), President Robb Ewoldt (Davenport) and Warren Bachman (Osceola), all ISA Directors.
The purpose of trip is to better understand via personal visits and observations Brazil’s soybean production output and potential, the quality of its infrastructure and changes in government policy and regulations. In fact, reports indicate the Brazilian government recently approved railroad construction with expectations of up to five major railways to be completed in the next decade. Here's another shot of Rob at Morena Farms, truly outstanding in his field (or, in this case, a Morena Farms field!).