La Canderia: Wheat (Trigo)

There are currently prohibitions from exporting wheat in Argentina, which has given the three or four larger wheat mills the power to control the price of wheat in the country.  For this reason, wheat is planted annually at La Candelaria for the sole purpose of seed preservation for the time that the market price goes up or the export prohibitions are lifted.  The world market for wheat is currently around $180 per metric ton, and in Argentina wheat is selling for closer to $80-$100 per ton. In 2011, the loss on the wheat production at La Candelaria was 13%.

Seeding occurs in June and harvesting in December. It is ideal to seed when the conditions are dry to prevent the seeds from absorbing moisture, freezing and losing their ability to germinate. Furthermore, the reason that wheat is most often planted after a soybean harvest is because the mulch that remains after a maize harvest retains too much moisture thereby increasing the freezing probability of the seeds.  Wheat yields are on average 3300 kg per hectare, are at their highest at 5000 kg per hectare, and are around 1800 kg per hectare when the seeds are subjected to a frost.

The seeds have a fungicide treatment applied pre-planting to protect against fungi in the soil. About 600,000 seeds are planted per hectare, and each seed grows into 3-4 wheat shoots. Herbicide is applied during the seedling phase, and then a second fungicide is applied in the second to last phase of the growth cycle to prevent roya (rust), a fungus that affects all the crops harshly. Other pests include caterpillars.

Since wheat is returning such a low value in Argentina currently, decisions for chemical applications need to be carefully calculated. Direct applications – ones done on the ground by tractors – result in an automatic 5% loss of the crop because of the damage done by the tractor tires. Aerial applications on the other hand are much more expensive. So, the yield of a crop must first be determined to see if more will be made from the crop using an aerial or direct application. Generally, if it is a productive field, the application is done by plane, and if it is a non-productive field, the application is done on the ground.

Harvesting wheat is similar to other grains. The controls are similar too – 333 grains per square meter equals 100 kg per hectare.

Wheat can be used for a number of markets. Wheat can be used for fodder, wheat pellets can be produced as a by-product during wheat processing, and wheat is used widely for human consumption.  Two common seed varieties used are baguette 11 and cronox. The problem with producing higher value wheat varieties, is that the market to get back your money doesn’t always exist at the time of harvest.

La Candelaria: Precision Agriculture

La Candelaria consists of 118 lots which are constantly being seeded, receiving chemical applications, being monitored for humidity, temperature variations, topographical changes, or being harvested. Understandably, with approximately 12,833 hectares being cultivated, there is always work to be done by the agricultural division.

Currently, the team is in the first steps of developing an online geographic information system (GIS)database to improve their knowledge of their fields and thereby improve yields. This was my first introduction to precision agriculture.

There are a number of variables that exist within fields. By doing landscape analyses of the harvest yields annually, slowly a landscape inventory of the variations in the fields' productivity is being developed. Currently the project is in its third introductory year. In 2010, the first harvesting machines with the ability to track and document the quantities being harvested at precise locations for each crop. The ability to track this information has been made possibly by using GPS technology amongst others. The following year, in 2011, pretty much all of the machines had the technology to capture the precise yield information more fully, though some holes still exist.

Here’s how it works. First the raw data is exported to the company's network in the office. The raw data then needs to be input manually into an agricultural software called SMS by Ag Leader. The information currently needs to be input manually for two reasons. 1) Unfortunately, the GIS software systems for each of the major agricultural mechanical manufacturers - John Deer, New Holland, Claas – are currently incompatible, and since contrators don't all use the same mechanical brands to harvest, the administration needs to assimilate the information themselves. 2) La Candelaria developed a lot (field) numbering system to organize the land being cultivated over many decades. This information isn't currently represented in the collection software by the mechanical harvesters. For this reason, the administration needs to identify and label each lot manually when inputting the data into the SMS system so the information can be appropriately referenced.

Once the information is in the SMS system, different variables can then be isolated and mapped for analysis. Though the software is complex enough to map very precise variations, currently the administration is creating maps with three colour variations for simplicity - green, yellow and red. Using the mapped out yields, it is then the task of the administration to determine if the lower yields are because of humidity, pests, disease or other factors.

About five years of information is needed on a field before any major decisions can be taken since weather changes from year to year and the overall climatic conditions of each year also need to be considered for yields.

Ultimately, the assimilated field variation information will be able to be transferred to the seeders, fertilizers, and fumigators to improve the efficiency and precision with which chemical applications are dispered or seed varieties are chosen to meet specific growth conditions. The goal with precision agriculture is to take advantage of modern agricultural technology to maximize production. For example, there are machines that currently use ‘green technology’ when fumigating, which means the machines have the ability to detect weeds and apply herbicides only in the locations where weeds are growing. I am very impressed to learn about such technologies, as I was under the impression that most often chemical applications were spread across the entire field regardless of need. Though I do not know the commonly practiced methods in Canada and the US,  this technology is certainly more cost effective and more environmentally friendly.

In these first years, a major challenge has been that not all contractors have the technology in their machines to map the fields. Also, some don’t have the proper training to make sure the information is being collected properly. This has resulted in discrepancies from year to year. One of the responsibilities of the agricultural division during harvest season is to be on top of which machines have the technology and to calibrate the machines, which takes about 20 minutes, once a week to ensure the information being collected is accurate. For the agricultural division too, learning to apply the technology takes time. Ag Leader provides a trainer that comes in to improve the capacity of the administrative team on its software. However, scheduling and finding time amongst the other responsibilities on the farm is often difficult.

To test the technology, the administration has conducted experiments on certain lots. For example, on one sunflower lot this year they applied fungicide in its usual dosage on half of the field and didn’t apply anything on the other half. Come harvest time, the sunflowers that had received the application yielded 400 kg more per hectare. The lot was 92 hectares which means about 18,000 kg of seed were lost on the 45 hectares that didn’t receive the fungicide which is certainly significant.

Last, the raw data that is being collected by the harvesters is currently being archived in case one day a program that can process and interpret all the mechanical manufacturers' systems is developed, La Candelaria has its history available and can be ahead of its competition.

La Candelaria: Sunflowers (Girasol)

Currently there are no lots planted with sunflowers. Seeded in October/early November and harvested in February, approximately 400 hectares of sunflowers are planted at La Candelaria annually. Like corn, sunflowers need to be bought annually because their specific genetic properties terminate after one growth cycle.

The fertilizer requirements for sunflowers are 80 kg of nitrogen and 12 kg of phosphorous per hectare. If the specific field where the sunflowers will be planted already has adequate amounts of these two nutrients, no application is necessary. The sunflowers are most sensitive during their flowering phase when the pollen is susceptible to being lost from the plants. For this reason, the ideal time for flowering is December 15 – January 15 when there is little rain to disturb the pollen. The plants flower about 80 – 90 days after seeding. During the germination phase, the plants are sensitive to ants and freezing.

About 40,000- 65,000 seeds are planted per hectare. A minimum of 40,000 plants are desired per hectare. Sunflowers are competitive plants, which means to have each seed produce the biggest flower and therefore seeds, enough light, nutrients and water needs to be available to each plant.

Nitrogen is applied when the flower starts to emerge and a preventative fungicide is applied before the flower opens.

The reason sunflowers are planted in such limited quantities is that their price is controlled by the Argentinian processing plants that buy the seeds.

La Candelaria: Soil Testing

Two important soil tests to conduct before seeding are a nitrogen test and a humidity test. The results of these tests allow for better planning for each lot. The nitrogen test will identify how much nitrogen needs to be applied to the subsequent crop planting and the humitidy test will identify if the lot is adequetely irrigated to support a seeding at this time.

Humidity Test: Practical Application

To test the humidity in a field, we had to look for a location in the field that was an average representation of the total elevations in the field. If we chose a depressed area, the water content would be too high of a representation and if we chose an elevated area, the water content would be too low of a representation.

Once an area was chosen, we used a tool to remove core samples of soil at 20 cm intervals from 0 - 200 cm. Each sample is bagged and identified for later evaluation. In the first field, we were unable to get samples beyong 160 cm because the water content was too high to remove any soil at those depths.

With the samples, we went to analyse the data at La Chalet - where the workers sleep during the week. We  weighed out 200 g for each sample section into aluminum containers. We then put them into an over at 200 C for a few hours. When we returned we measured the weights again to see the weight change. The samples were then put into the oven again to be measured once more a few hours later. This process is continued until the weights stay constant (+/- 2 g), and the total loss in weight is used to calculate the humidity content at each level in the soil.

Nitrogen Test: Practical Application

The second test is determining the nitrogen content in the soil to ensure the plants will have ample to produce elevated yields. The sample size for this test is to take 5 samples at 3 different locations in one field of depths 0-30 cm and 30 - 60 cm. The 15 samples for each depth are mixed, bagged and identified for later analysis.

In La Chalet, we mix 40 g of soil with 40 g of distilled water. The mixture is then stirred for 3 minutes create a soluble solution with the particles from the field soil. The solution is then filtered into a sanitized beaker. A nitrogen test where a treated stick is calibrated, dipped in the filtered solution, then allowed to oxidize for one minute is conducted. After the one minute oxidation the stick is put into the calibrator for analysis, and it will tell you how much nitrogren is contained in your sample.

The maximum in our tests was 17 ppm N and the minimum in our tests was 0 ppm N. The lower depths always contained less N than the higher depths.



La Candelaria: Soybean 2.0

Two days ago we experienced one of the first frosts of the season. The temperature was at -1 C. With the arrival of the frost, I know that fall is really here and that it is essential to get the crops harvested for the winter.

Field aeration is important for the success of a crop. This can be achieved by working the soil with a plough (which ploughs to a 40 cm depth) or by planting a cover crop that aerates through its root system such as alfalfa (which has a root system 4-5 m deep.) Compaction of the soil is a major problem when seeding, chemical applications and harvesting is done by heavy duty machinery. Loosening up the soil improves the water distribution, breaks up mineral build-ups that create impermeable layers in the soil and improves the effectiveness of chemical applications.

The focus of today's lesson was the soybean. We've been working with the agricultural division which consists of Santiago, Mariano, and Mauricio. Planting depends on the commodity price of the soybean in the year of planting. Since the Argentinian government is not stable and there is not a strong local economy for the soybean, prices depend on the world market.

The soybean is planted in two seasons referred to as the first harvest and second harvest soy. First harvest seedings vary from year to year and are dependent on the climate and soil conditions of different plots at the time of seeding. Different varieties are used to respond to different conditions. Changes in seed result in different time requirements for germination and maturation.

The critical period for first harvest soybeans is the flowering stage. The soy plant is strongest when it has ample water access. When it experiences dry or drought conditions, the plant will abort flowers and thereby lose seedpods. Studying the rainfall patterns for the last thirty years at La Calanderia, it is known that December 15 - January 15 is a high temperature dry season. So the soy plants are planted so that the flowering date ( +/- 15 days) for the specific variety being used doesn't fall within this window of time.

For similar purposes, the second harvest soybeans are planted in December so that their flowering period occurs in February.

It is also important to recognize that short cylce plants are generally smaller, which therefore have less seeds per plant and longer cylce plants are generally bigger, and therefore have more seeds per plant. This is why 400,000 seeds are planted per hectare for short cylce varieties and only 350,000 seeds need to be planted per hectore for long cylce varieties to receive similar yields for the land being used.

The soybeans used at La Calendaria are all genetically engineered (GE) seeds. Though the soil at La Calendaria is typically depleted of nitrogen and phosphorus, the soybeans do not receive either of these mineral supplements for growth. The seeds are inoculated with a supplement that contains bacteria that improves the nitrogen production of the plants.

When fertilizer used to be cheaper, the administration used to purchase more phosphorus to use during the corn application so that it would last for the soybean crop that would follow the corn crop. By doing one application for both crops, it saved on the labour costs for application and supplemented both crops. Now that phosphorus is more expensive, only the quantities required for the corn crops are applied.

The growth phases of the soybean, as I understand them, are as follows: seeding, germination, flowering (plant is reproductive at the first flower), pollination, seed formation, seed maturation and drying.

Pests that are of concern to the soy plant are catipillars (in Spanish trips, tucuras, oruga bollifera) which eat the leaves of the plant, small spiders which toward the end of the plant life cycle consumes the leaves and the plants nutrients, and the chinca verde and its larvae which also eat the leaves. Pests are worse when the weather has high temperatures and low precipitation.

Leaf rust, a fungus, is the hardest to control and attacks when plants are subject to high temperatures and excessive humidity.

If the crop is going to be sold commercially, which means put to market for processing, more pests can be allowed than if the seeds are to be kept for seeding the following year. The generally acceptable organic material loss of a crop is about 15%. However, when monitoring the pest presence for a plot, it important to distinguish if the organic matter loss has occured slowly over time or over a short period of time - a 15% loss in a week can quickly turn into a 40% loss which is much more worrying.

There are a variety of pest and disease mitigation approaches. Luckily in this part of Argentina the crops aren't subject to many pests and disease becuase of the colder climate. Sometimes in fact the crops don't need an application of insecticide because the plants are strong enough to resist the pest and disease on their own. Otherwise insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are applied.

Applications of these protections are more preventative than curable, which is why there aren't often many pest or disease outbreaks in the crops - each harvest has chemical applications included in its production cost. If there is an outbreak of a pest or disease, the administration needs to evaluate if the market price at the time can support a chemical intervention cost wise. Rarely is this the case. As a result, they crop is just left to finish its growth cycle as is until complete, and then the seeds are harvested with accordingly lower yields than the healthy plots. (The quality of the soybeans are not affected by disease and pests, just the yields of the crop.)

Other technologies being developed include genetically engineering the plants to be toxic to the pests that threaten them. For example, there is a variety of soybean that has been developed to be toxic to the chinca verde and it's larvae.

La Candelaria, Argentina: Administracion Enrique Duhau SAAG

I am currently interning at Administration E. Duhau in Argentina. They are one of the largest producers of beef in the country and do business in many aspects of the industry around the country. Currently I am working on one of their properties called La Candelaria, which houses Argentina's largest feedlot and also has a very extensive crop production division.

 

The details of each on-farm division will follow, but here is a general overview of the production in recent years according to the owner.

 

1) Agriculture on our own land. We plant corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and sunflower. We are located in the province of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Chaco, in northern Argentina. We plant 25.000 has.

2) Agriculture on rented land. We plant about 55.000 has of the same products in Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Cordoba, Chaco and Santiago del Estero.

3) Milk production. We milk 1.800 cows in 4 dairies.

4) Calf production. We raise 5.000 calves yearly in 3 farms in the east of the province of Buenos Aires.

 

5) Feedlot. We fatten 60.000 steers in 2 feedlots in the west of the province of Buenos Aires.

 

 

Santa Teresa: Feedlot and Dairy

 

It was immediately evident that Santa Teresa was a larger and more complex operation than what I had seen up until this point. Upon arrival, I met the administrative/operations managers that consist of a team of about six men that oversee the agricultural production, the dairies and the feedlots onsite.

The owner, Henry, had flown in on his private single-engine plane from Buenos Aries to greet me and introduce me to his property. The next day we drove around to get an overview of the work being done at this time of the year on the farm.
At the feedlot, I could see immediate differences from Los Potros, including the use of demi plastic barrels for the feeding troughs and the presence of Holstein steers in the lots. The plastic barrels are a cheaper alternative to cement troughs when starting out, and the Holsteins steers are all the male offspring that result from the dairy operation.

In the morning, Juan, who is in charge of the feedlot, had to go to Lincoln, the nearby town, to get permits for his hired trucks to transport steers that had been sold. However, the issuing office refused his permits until noon on the grounds that it had rained the night previously and it would be too dangerous for the fully loaded trucks to proceed on their route before the sun was able to dry up  the dirt roads adequately. The loading of the animals on the property did commence before noon so that they were ready to go as soon as the permits were valid, but one of them did get stuck in the mud before it was even loaded with animals. It needed to be pulled out by tractor.

In the afternoon we started by visiting the young female dairy calves that live in the front yard of the big house onsite. As I approached the area I was reminded of a petting zoo – the young creatures had each been allotted their own straw covered bed to which they were affixed by a pole and chain at the center allowing them a small radius to adventure. The reason these calves are so heavily monitored, is because they are removed from their mothers after 24 hours to optimize the milking of the adults. The calves are allowed to consume the protective colostrum to help build their immunity, then they are put on a man-made diet. Some calves are larger, some smaller, and they all learn how to feed at different rates. So, to ensure they grow up to be productive milking cows, they each provided with personal care.

The males, are separated into another area on the front lawn as well and need to learn to group feed much more rapidly, as they will be sent to the feedlot ultimately.

 

We then visited one of the two dairies at Santa Teresa.  Both dairies milk herds  of about 350 daily. The cows are milked at 2.30 am and 2.30 pm, which I said seems to be a very unusual schedule since the Canadian dairies I have visited milk at 5.00 am and 5.00 pm or 6.00 am and 6.00 pm. We couldn’t figure out why the Argentines have such a different schedule.

The cows enter their milking stalls in an orderly fashion. As they stand diagonal to one another to maximize the number of animals being milked at one time, the dairy men are below in a pit rinsing, sanitizing and stimulating the udders for milking. Then a milking vacuum is attached to each nipple to milk the animal dry – each animal is currently providing about 22-24 litres per day.  Once the animal is dry, the vacuum automatically detaches itself from the cow. A seal, meant to replicate the seal caused by a calves saliva, is then applied to prevent infections in the udder.

Throughout my travels, I have had very little problem working with meat cattle, and am happy to see them as delicious steaks and asado meat.  But the dairy industry is one that I just can’t seem to get excited about. In Canada, I have for years limited my dairy intake and generally reserve dairy consumption for cheese. I acknowledge that my disinterest is a direct result of my limited consumption of dairy products, and my negative impressions of the work is a result of this distance I have put between myself and the industry as a consumer. Nonetheless, when I return to Santa Teresa, I hope to work an entire day in the dairy division of the operation to get a full experience. 

On my first day, it was decided that I would be better served by going to the larger feedlot operation, La Candelaria, about a two hour drive away from Santa Teresa, so as we drove back from the dairy, we went right to Henry’s private plane we he announced to me he would fly me to La Candelaria. Not having packed, I asked him when. He said now! So I ran to the house, packed in flurry and within 10 minutes was in the plane ready to take off on my next adventure.  

 

Bonsmara

The Bonsmara breed has been an integral part of my learning at Estancia Salvacion and Los Potros Feedlot. Don John is heavily involved in the promotion of the Bonsmara breed in Argentina and believes very much in its successful future in Argentina.

The Bonsmara is a relatively new breed to Argentina first introduced in 1995 via embryo transplantation. The breed, 5/8 Afrikaner and a 3/8 split between English Shorthorn and Hereford breeds, was developed throughout the 20th century in South Africa to respond to the poor grass and extreme heat conditions of the country.

The reason there has been a strong interest in the Bonsmara in Argentina is because their northern most frontier (near Paraguay) share similar conditions (marginal grasses and high temperatures) with that of South Africa given that they are at similar latitudes.

Though Bonsmara don’t put on kilos faster than the English breeds, and other crosses do share similar tolerance for marginal conditions, the Bonsmara is the most docile breed on the market. The animals are less aggressive and less stressed at all phases of procution - in the corral, during shipping and receiving too. This creates a safer work environment for employees and also improves efficiency.

The morning presentations also included important statistics on the meat market. Price trends, consumption and production trends, and comparison across international markets were all discussed. Steers from the feedlot are bought and sold at their per/kilo weight. Arriving at the feedlots generally around 140 kg and leaving once they pass the 300 kg minimum. The return on steers is much better when they way less because the animal's meat is much younger and less tough for which their is a price premium. 

Breeding was also a major discussion - how do others start to transform their heards into Bonsmara. Buying Bonsmara bulls or buying Bonsmara semen for crossbreeding are options, as is embryo tranplanting. It was at this stage we went into the field to witness the grandeur of the bulls owned by Los Potros for the companies herd production. Really impressive animals weighing about 1200 kg and containing the ideal traits for the tolerances discussed above.

At the end of the day my time with working for Salvacion and San Marcos had come to its end. I was thankful that many of the key people who had been my teachers and hosts for the last six weeks were present to say goodbye....for now. The learning and experiences I have had on the estancias, with the field crops and at the feedlot will forever influence my perspective on agricultural and my career too.

Thanks to Johnny and  Don John for the time at Estancia Salvacion.

Thank you to my veterinary teachers Ochoteco from Los Potros, Ameghino and Diego from Estancia Salvacion, Formosa.

And thank you to Johnny, (Santiago and Marcos) for organizing my time at Los Potros, Ameghino..

Ameghino, Buenos Aires: Mechanical Efficiency in Harvest Combines

The industrial food system is based on mono-cropping on large plots of land in order to take advantage of the economies of scale that result from such a practice including the ability to mechanise your entire operation. Prior to my arrival in Argentina, my knowledge of the machines required to make seeding, maintaining and harvesting on such a large scale possible was very limited. Now I have a slightly better appreciation for the number of machines used to collect, store and transport the harvest most efficiently.

Earlier in the week, I had the chance to shadow a local agricultural engineer who works for a collective of local farms to ensure that their methods and technologies are up-to-date and functioning properly. Our goal was to visit two of the local farms to assess the quantity of soybeans lost from the combine being used to do the harvest.

To do this, we had a ¼ meter diameter mesh net. This net was thrown under the belly of the combine as it passed. Then, all of the beans on top of the net were counted to see how many seeds were going through the machine but then being discarded with the rest of the plant material, and we also counted all the seeds underneath the net to see how many were not being taken up by the machine at all.

At the first property, the combine was extremely efficient. About 7 seeds were being lost on top of the net and maybe 4 underneath the net. The net loss per hectare was minimal. I also had the opportunity to take a ride in this combine (because it has two seats) and was better able to appreciate how advanced and precise the harvesting technology is today. Inside the air conditioned unit, the collection rate, weight of harvest, and other valuable statistics are all documented on a digital screen. The machine is controlled by a steering wheel and a joy stick to for better precision.

At the second farm, the combine was much less efficient. At a maximum 85 beans were counted. The average of all the tests showed that approximately 400 kg of beans were being left behind in the field per hectare – which was about a 20% loss for this lot. Considering the loss for these machines should be closer to 2%, the loss was enormous. The agricultural technician shared that it isn’t entirely the machines fault since the soybean crop is particularly bad this year. Basically, because of the lack of rain, the plants have not reached their optimal height and consequently they are too short for the combine teeth to push them into the machine.

Two lessons have been learned – 1) machines can’t adjust for all crop failures, which may result in high losses and 2) it is extremely important to monitor the efficiencies of your machines and not just assume that there are meeting the projected efficiencies from manufacturer testing.

The Soybean - Argentina

My ultimate goal coming to Argentina was to gain an appreciation for industrial and international agriculture. In my opinion the photo above captures the essence of my ambition well – a soybean filled truck that has just been loaded (with 30,000 kg) to be transported to the port for export. The soybeans were harvested moments earlier by heavy duty industrial machinery from an 80 hectare (200 acre) mono-crop field once the moisture content of the beans were deemed to be dry enough for harvest.

It is one of my favourite photos I have taken so far on this trip for its aesthetic and also its meaning. It is a photo that captures a small moment of the international soybean industry, an industry that is very large, complex and has its share of contention. I would like to take this time to briefly discuss the soybean industry to understand why I am so impressed to be a part of it. (Please note the statistics that follow are approximates sourced from Wikipedia.)

In Canada, consumers have some knowledge of the soybean. In supermarkets, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, bean paste, soy sauce, frozen edamame, soy ice cream, soy cheese, soy meat and a plethora of other soy-based protein replacements have made a huge dent in the food retail industry. Despite the strong presence of soy in today’s grocery markets, it might be interesting for consumers to learn that only a small portion of the soybean production globally is for human consumption – the majority of soybeans are converted into defatted soybean meal which is a significant and cheap source of protein for animal feed today. In fact, it has revolutionized meat production on an industrial scale by making complete protein available to animals for consumption and allowing them to pack on the pounds more quickly.

Despite being a legume native to East Asia, globally, the top producers of the soybean are the US (35%), Brazil (27%), Argentina (19%), China (6%) and India (4%). These five countries account for 90% of the world’s soybean production. In 2011, it was estimated that the US produced 10 million tons of the bean. The top exporters are Brazil (39%), the US (37%) and Argentina (16%) – these three countries total 92% of global exports. The top importers are China (41%), the EU (22%), Japan (6%) and Mexico (6%).

When I analyzed the beef, pork and poultry production globally, it was interesting to see how the soybean production and distribution aligned with the meat production industry. For beef, the top producers as of 2010 are the US (11,789,000 metric tonnes), Brazil (9,300,000 mt), EU (7,920,000 mt), China (5,550,000 mt) and Argentina (2,800,000 mt). Global pig stocks as of 2007 were China (425.6 million), US (61.7 mil), Brazil (35.9 mil) and Germany (27.1 mil). Global poultry stocks as of 2004 were China (3,860 million), US (1,970 mil), Indonesia (1,200 mil), Brazil (1,100 mil) and Mexico (540 mil).

What quickly became evident is that the top meat producers, the US, Brazil, the EU and China are also producing, exporting or importing the majority of the soybean production globally to improve their meat production.

The composition of a dry soybean is 40% protein, 20% oil, 35% carbohydrate and 5% ash. Its oil and protein contents are very valuable. In meat production for example, since corn is primarily composed of carbohydrates and is the primary feed supplement, the protein is very necessary for the animals.

At Los Potros, the estimates on production per hectare of their crops are soybean (3,000 kg), sorghum (7,000 kg) and maize (10,000 kg). Currently the soybean (soja) is being harvested. Approximately 30 – 40 hectares can be harvested per day with one machine, and Los Potros has 573 hectares planted this year – on all three of the properties owned by Establecimiento San Marcos there are 1517 hectares of soybean planted this year. The bean technology was originally purchased from companies that developed plants best suited for the conditions in this area. Los Potros saves some of their seeds every year to replant in the spring. They still need to pay feed to the original company for the continued use of the genetic variety they use on their farms.

Currently, one of the primary contentions about the soybean industry is the prevalence of genetically engineered soybeans. For example, in 1997, 8% of the US soybean industry was based on genetically engineered seed. In 2010 the proportion was up to 93%. In all fairness the US does have a history of combining industrial technology with the soybean – a history of which I was previously unaware. In the 1930s the Ford Motor company invested 1.25 million dollars in research and development of the bean. By 1935 it is claimed that all Ford cars had soy involved in at least one part of their production often in the form of soy plastic. Ford himself, was also instrumental at promoting the development of soy milk, soy ice cream and the use of industrial soy plastics.

Fears associated with genetically engineered commodities include the lack of knowledge consumers have about the implications on human, animal and environmental health in the long run that may result from the rapid genetic alterations of crops; patents on plant technology and seed ownership rights that have resulted from the money that has been invested in research and development; competitive inequalities that result from those that are and are not able to afford the technology; and dependency of certain farmers on the technology for their livelihood.

The debated ethical question about the long term health implications of genetically engineering plants, for example, has proven to be a barrier to entry into the EU market, as many EU countries have much stricter regulations on the use of genetic engineering in their foods.

Engineering includes technology from Monsanto, a multination agriculture biotechnology company, which developed a Roundup Ready soybean variety which withstands the application of their very popular herbicide, Roundup. Other soybeans are inoculated with strains of nitrogen fixing bacteria before planting to allow optimal growth and nitrogen fixation.

The soybean is a legume, which means it fixes nitrogen into the soil via a relationship with bacteria that develop in nodules in its root system. Nitrogen is most often the limiting nutrient that prevents plants from growing optimally, so it is interesting to learn that on industrial levels, farmers are able to use the soybean as a means to maintain healthy nitrogen levels in the soil after they would have been depleted the essential levels by maize and sorghum production.

This brings me to a much debated subject. People concerned with the ethical nature of the industrial food system, where large scale farmers work closely with behemoth multinational agri-food companies to successfully feed the people of the world, worry that the people involved in industrial agriculture are not taking care of their lands properly. I too often find myself on the discerning side of this debate wondering how much the faceless people of the agri-business world care about environmental and human health issues above the profit margins of their businesses. (Also, how much of the actions taken to produce more is rationalized by the need to feed people.)

After meeting the people who are a part of this system, I am convinced that it is not as evil as we suspect it to be, at least not in Argentina – I still have my doubts about the methods used in the US. The people who are making it happen care significantly about the health of their soils as their livelihoods depend on the long term ability of the land to sustain the animals and plants they hope to produce year after year. I genuinely believe that they are working to produce quality crops and beef at a large scale. I can vouch for the quality and civilized farming methods of the cattle for sure.

Also, I am less concerned with the implications of the genetic engineered seeds that are being planted than I was previously, but I maintain my concern about the use of herbicides and pesticides being spread on crops. The widespread use, with 3 -4 sprayings per crop cycle, on vast areas of land does compromise the micro-organisms that would naturally maintain the ecosystems on these lands. Arguably we are not by any means trying to support the natural ecosystems in these areas, nor are there plans to do so in the near future considering the lands being used for agriculture will need to continue their production far into the future to meet global demands. Yet the fact that growth depends heavily on the sun’s energy, rainfall, and weather patterns which are pretty much incontrollable, I believe that persistent suppression of many of the soils micro-organisms and constantly artificially controlling the soils composition will result in agricultural hardships in the future.

I am still torn on my feelings about this subject because I can make and understand the arguments on both sides. A part of me believes in the ingenuity and creativity of humanity to overcome any obstacle, and also questions how near in the future these ‘agricultural hardships’ may arise. If it is not in my lifetime, is it something I should really worry about?

Then there is a side of me that does believe in doing all I can to understand nature’s systems and preserve them for future generations. Or is it for the sake of preservation? Have we inherited the land from our parents or are we borrowing the land from our children? I don’t know. I tend to lean towards we have inherited it from our parents and our children, like we have, will inherit the land from us with the results of all our right and wrong decisions.

Regardless, I am here now, seeing in this moment in history, large quantities of soybean being harvested in Argentina for export to the global market. It is a process that exemplifies technological, mechanical and biological innovation and application. I am happy to be a part of this history and most of all, I am happy to be outdoors growing food.