CREA: The Technical Meeting

CREA Monte Maiz Wheat Production Meeting

I was able to attend two different CREA group meetings specifically on wheat production. The meetings were organized and run by the CREA advisor and attended by most of the members.

The CREA advisor compiled the wheat production numbers from the members for previous campaign and the research results from the group and the region. The advisor included additional data deemed relevant to wheat production. 

In both meetings, the advisor went through the agronomic benefits of growing wheat in rotation with corn and soybeans. Here, the water table at the time of planting is a very good indicator as to final crop yield. Historically, they receive little rain during the wheat growing season. Water table levels are up this year. The advisors used data that was analyzed with statistics. I don't think they shared any data that wasn't evaluated with statistics, first. Many of the research data was from farms, but most of those plots were randomized and replicated either across a field, or across many farms. 

The advisors were comfortable presenting LSD's and CV's and other measurements for variability within data. The shared regressions and stability tests as well. 

CREA General Baldissera Wheat Production Meeting

In both meetings, the issue of government policy on wheat exports was a major concern. The general straw poll indicated that most producers would grow less wheat. If they grew wheat at all, it would be in regions of the country that have some better historical yields. Some producers may not grow any wheat at all in Argentina, but may try some in a neighboring country. (Yes, some of these producers have land in Uraguay. Remember, that the business model here is to spread your risk by managing land in different regions.)

These producers are on the top of their game with economics and agronomic data for producing wheat. Even with all of that information, they do not know how the government will react this coming year. That is their biggest question going into wheat this season. 

CREA: The Group Meeting III

When Clint Hardy and Suzy Martin came to visit, we were able to attend another CREA group meeting, CREA Pergamino. Jorge Banciotto is the vocale for northern Buenos Aires and he invited us to this meeting. Our host farm was Estancia Santa Rosa, about 10 or 15 km from the paved road. (Later that turned out to be quite the adventure.)

The morning meeting was different than usual. The morning was devoted to discussing how/if CREA should change. The producers were asked to work in groups, fill out individual surveys and discuss how and if CREA should change. The survey asked several questions from the purpose of CREA to the function of the various components of CREA. I kept a copy because it has some of the same questions we might need to ask if we develop something like this.

Once the morning session was over, we were served lunch. I have been told by more than one member that a good lunch is critical to a good meeting (sounds like home). But, for lunch, we started with salami, cheese, olives and bread as appetizers. After that, we had epanadas, baked joys of beef or ham wrapped in something similar to a pie crust. After that, we moved on to chori-pan, which would be similar to an Italian sausage sandwich with French bread. That was capped off with an ice cream dessert and coffee.

After lunch, the amazing part happened... all of the members stayed and all of the members stayed awake. The three "Americanos" marveled at the Argentines' ability to stay attentive and engaged after such a meal.

The afternoon became the normal CREA group meeting with the presentation by the host and group discussion. This group function was similar to the others I have witnessed. The group members do their best to give an honest assessment of the host farm and to provide valuable criticism.

Equally impressive to the ability to stay awake after a big lunch, was the quietness of cell phones. All cell phones were on silent. During the entire day, only three or four calls were answered. If they were answered, the producer quickly and quietly left the meeting area. At home, it almost seems a demonstration of importance to take a cell phone call during a meeting. Here, it was considered rude.  For the most part, the group members stayed engaged for the entire time of the meeting. They all talked, but they were courteous towards each other. Once in a while, the moderator would have to quiet everyone and restore order. This is the type of engagement we in Extension say we want, but we never quite get there in most of our meetings.

It was nearly dark when it was time to leave... and it had been raining all day. We were 10 to 15 km from paved roads, so the drive to the paved roads was extremely exciting. I say exciting because we never had to get out and push... although we came close once or twice. Jorge, the producer who invited us, was also our driver. If he ever decides to change careers, I think he would do just fine in NASCAR or on the Rally circuit!

CREA - The Group Meeting II

The group CREA General Baldissera had their meeting this past week. The president of the group, Santiago Nobile, invited me to attend the meeting. Santiago was extremely helpful to my family and I when we first arrived, helping me get a cell phone and look for apartments. Santiago also gave a presentation on CREA to the Kentucky producers when they visited.

We met at the farm of Alfonso about one hour from Venado Tuerto, and about 100 km from General Baldissera. The meeting started at 8:24 am (6 minutes early) with the round of news, where each farm reports on the latest. Most of the reports centered on how much of the corn and soybean crop has been harvested and the yields to this point. To sum things up quickly, yields look good (about 200 bu/acre for corn and 60 bu/acre for soybean). Farmers were pleased with the corn and a little disappointed with soybean. Frogeye leafspot (Circospora sojina) was a problem this year and reduced some yields.

Alfonso presented his operation to the group and has some general questions about what his 5-year plan should be with his operation. He would like to expand is acreage and put forward a proposal on how to do it. After Alfonso presented his information, the group broke into two groups and they discussed Alfonso's questions. Again, Alfonso, his family and the advisor, Juan Pablo, can not participate in this part of the meeting.

When the groups were completed with their ideas, they presented their information to Alfonso, starting at about 12:20. Again, here is where I wish I could speak or at least understand Spanish. Looking at facial expressions and general body language, I could tell when a comment was favorable or complimentary to the operation and when a comment was critical. This reminded me that none of us like to hear criticism. But, these farmers know that it is precisely that criticism that will help them improve their operations. The comments to Alfonso were complete by about 1:00 pm. So, this response by the groups is not very long, but the information is very useful.

Interestingly, the discussion drifted from responses to Alfonso to a bunch of small discussions between two or three producers. These meetings get everyone to think, both about Alfonso's operation and their own. Lunch was served at 2 pm and the conversation stopped almost immediately. Lunch was chorizo (a sausage), followed by salad, steak, ice cream bars and coffee. I really like Argentine lunches. These folks know how to feed somebody.

On a side note: two of the producers in this group knew Dr. Grant Thomas at the University of Kentucky. They visited Kentucky in 1996 or 1997 and remembered when Dr. Thomas was in Argentina. I have met many farmers in this area of Argentina that knew Dr. Thomas. Again, they credit Kentucky for teaching them how to do no-till or "siembra directa".

Santiago (bottom right) reports on his group's response to Alfonso's (middle left) questions.

More feedback to Alfonso.

CREA - Research Plots on Corn

I was able to visit two different CREA research projects during the past couple weeks, one investigating fertilizer effects on soils and crops, and the second investigating fungicide effect on corn yield. The first visit was with Miguel Boxler, the research coordinator for Sur de Santa Fe and Fernando Garcia with International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), and Ricardo Pozzi, a CREA advisor and the coordinator of this project. This project was coordinated across the Sur de Santa Fe Region.

Dr. Garcia and IPNI were interested in the long term effects of fertilizer on soils and crop yields. They needed competent producers to carry out the long term project. They turned to CREA Sur de Santa Fe. They also needed a sponsor for the project. ASP (similar to CPS in the States) volunteered and provides all of the fertilizer for the tests.

Dr. Garcia informed me that they are in the tenth year of the project and they have six farms remaining. Each farm has fertilizer treatments involving nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur, all compared with no fertilizer. Each farm has three replications of the treatments. Everything is performed with farm-scale equipment and the plots are very large. The farms then operate one of two rotations: corn - wheat - double crop soybeans or full season soybeans - corn - wheat - double crop soybeans.

Over this time, students at universities have conducted research projects. CREA, IPNI and ASP all are interested in as much data as possible. They welcome university researchers. Some of the measurements on the soils include soil stability, velocity of infiltration, young carbon, bulk density, soil P fractions and soil microbiological properties. All of these measurements are compared across the contrasting fertilizer treatments.

After we looked at two different fields, Dr. Garcia, Jorge Minteguiaga (regional coordinator for CREA), and Ricardo Pozzi discussed the direction of the research plots over lunch. After 10 years of data, they were asking each other if new treatments, changes to current treatments or other factors should be included. Personally, I would love to have six farms with replicated plots for ten years. Ricardo told me that the soils in this area are about 70% silt, 25% clay and 5% sand. I would love to have that soil as well!

Miguel told me that he is managing 70 research plots for CREA Sur de Santa Fe, including hybrids, fertilizers, etc. All of the plots are conducted with farm-scale equipment and use large field plots. In addition to these research plots, many of the CREA groups conduct research plots as well. About 270 sites of research are being conducted this year across Sur de Santa Fe (70 of those are organized by the region, the remainder are organized by individual groups or farms).

The second visit was with Maximo Uranga, producer, and Juan Pablo Ioele, advisor, of CREA Posta Espinollos. This CREA group had put together a fungicide protocol on corn. The treatments included six hybrids, all planted in long strips. Fungicide (Opera) was applied at about V14 or at R1 (tassel/silking) in two separate treatments. Each farm has only one replication, but six different farms serve as the replications.

In addition to these treatments, Maximo included some nitrogen fertilizer rates and plant density rates. If I understood correctly, these treatments were solely on Maximo's farm and he had three replications of these treatments.

While Maximo collected grain samples from the harvester, Juan Pablo and I checked stalks for disease. I wasn't keeping track of the treatments, but it appeared that stalk diseases were a function of hybrid and less affected by fungicide. Fungicide timing did increase grain moisture content (the no fungicide treatment was the lowest grain moisture and R1 treatment was the highest grain moisture concentration). Grain yields appeared to be sporadic and not influenced by fungicide treatment. Again, this is only one site and I was looking at the preliminary data.

What I have witnessed is some really good research being conducted on large-scale plots with a coordinated effort. They have the same challenges as we do, such as getting some treatments to work well with equipment limitations. But, to have this many farms with research plots and for these farmers to be sharing their research with each other is extremely helpful to all producers. In addition, I was told that CREA will share their research results with non-CREA producers. They have the opinion that they want more farmers to join CREA and the research plots are a good advertisement for that.

A spot in the field with a "triple", three plants very close to each other. I've noticed a lot of doubles and triples in many of the fields. Planter accuracy is a problem here, but seed costs are much less. Since contractors get paid by the hectare, there is pressure on them to plant each hectare as fast as possible. That probably leads to more doubles and triples.

Dr. Fernando Garcia with IPNI (middle), Miguel Boxler, research coordinator for CREA Sur de Santa Fe (far left) and Ricardo Pozzi, CREA advisor, (between Miguel and Fernando) examine corn in the fertilizer trials.

Maximo is talking with the contractor about how to harvest the plots.

A couple of Maximo's children are enjoying riding in the combine.

Checking stalks for diseases. We saw some anthracnose and a little fusarium.

The weigh wagon is equipped with scales, allowing the contractor to record the weight of each plot.

CREA - Mendoza Wine Country

My family and I were able to visit western Argentina, Mendoza Province in mid-March. CREA Regional Valles Cordilleranos is a regional group of producers who grow grapes and/or olives. Most of the grapes are for wine. The vocale of the region is Alejandro Toso, a producer who has a vineyard just south of the city of Mendoza.

-- Just as a quick reminder, producers make up CREA groups. The groups make up regions. Each group has a president that serves for two years. The presidents of a region elect a "vocal" to represent the region.--

Alejandro encouraged us to visit several places in Mendoza Province, including Bodegas Salentein, a winery in Alejandro's CREA group. Bodegas Salentein has a wine cellar, a restaurant and museum and a church all on the same farm. This place looked like it was designed to have visitors and tours, just like the tour we attended. The cost for adults to tour the vineyard and cellar was 20 pesos (about $5.30 US Dollars). The drive from central Mendoza city took about an hour, maybe a little more. But, the vineyards and view of the mountains was worth it.

We took one day to visit Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. No grapes, but a fantastic view. Vineyards closer to the mountains are at higher elevations and produce grapes that get higher prices for wine. If I understand correctly, the higher elevations bring cooler night temperatures and that helps with color and acidity.

We visited Alejandro's farm, Vinas de Barrancas, which is about 30 to 40 minutes south of central Mendoza city. Alejandro has 100 hectares of grapes. He grows five varieties of grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Sauvignion Blanc. He sells grapes to five different wineries.

In addition to growing grapes, Alejandro offers lunches and the freedom to walk through his finca (farm). Reservations are required. But, after lunch, you walk under the shade of trees through much of his farm and walk to a high point to get a really good view of the valley. So, if you are in the Mendoza area, take the time to visit Vinas de Barrancas, enjoy a great lunch and learn a little about the wine industry as well.

Grape harvest was in full swing and Alejandro took us to one of his neighbors to see the harvest. Grape harvest is mostly done by hand, even though machinery harvesters are available. Many of the wineries prefer to have hand-harvested grapes as part of the tradition.

The CREA group to which Alejandro belongs is CREA Los Barrancas. There are 16 members of CREA Los Barrancas. Three of the members only grow grapes and sell those grapes to wineries. The remaining 13 have both vineyards and wineries. The general meeting schedule for this group is to meet at 9 am and start by the host producer presenting the operation. Things discussed include the winemaking process, grapes and growing grapes. In addition, if the host producer has a winery, then wine tasting occurs and the members of the group provide feedback on how the wine should be priced and marketed. Lunch occurs by 2 pm and the official meeting is over. After lunch, the group members may stay and talk until as late as 6 pm. While the schedule is a little different from CREA groups in southern Santa Fe, the purpose of the meeting is the same, one producer presents his operation and some questions. The other members do their best to provide suggestions, criticism and guidance.

There are ten CREA groups that make up the Region Valles Cordilleranos of CREA. Most of the groups produce grapes. Five of the groups are based in Mendoza. One CREA group in the region is made of producers who grow table grapes. Two groups are for producers of olives.

A side note: almost every farm I visit, the farmer asks me for areas where he can improve. Normally, the farmer gets agitated if I do not provide at least one suggestion. They want me to be critical. They want to see an area that they are missing.

So, while the crops are different, the concept of CREA in the Mendoza area is similar to CREA in southern Santa Fe.

Vines at Bodega Salentein.

Wine cellar of Bodega Salentein.

Barrels of wine aging at the cellar of Bodega Valentein.

Bottles of wine aging at Bodega Salentein.

The restaurant and museum at Bodega Salentein.

Anconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere.

Alejandro Toso and myself at his farm.


Field of malbec grapes at Vinas de Barrancas.


Vinas de Barrancas.

Harvesting grapes at Finca del Inca, a farm near Alejandro's.

Taking boxes of grapes to the truck. Each worker is paid for each box of grapes harvested.

Box of harvested grapes at Finca del Inca.

Grapes at Finca del Inca.

CREA - The Structure

CREA (Consorcios Regionales de Experimentacion Agricola or Regional Consortiums of Agricultural Experimentation) is an organization of farmers who work in small groups to improve each farming enterprise. Each group has about 10 farmers. Several groups make up a region. In the case of Sur de Santa Fe, there are 17 groups. The regions make up the Argentina Association of CREA (AA CREA or AACREA).

Each group hires and agronomic advisor who visits each farm once a month and makes agronomic and economic suggestions to each farmer. The farmers (productores) of the group meet once a month to review crop records, etc. (See the post on 12 Feb for more details about a group meeting.) As mentioned in that post, one farmer provides details of the enterprise (crops, yields, expenses, returns, etc.) to the rest of the group. The group reviews the details and makes suggestions and criticisms to the producer.

The region hires a coordinator who helps plan monthly meetings, works with the advisor, and helps coordinate regional research projects. Seed companies pay to have hybrids and varieties entered into large-scale plots that are replicated 12 to 14 times in a region. Farmers also conduct some research with their advisors and with other farmers in the groups. The results of this research are published and discussed at regional meetings. The region hosts three meetings a year, one for corn, one for soybean and one for wheat. Some of the meetings are repeated in a different part of the region. Farmers, CREA members and non-members, are welcome to attend the meetings. A fee is involved.

Each group elects a president to serve for two years. The president attends a monthly CREA regional meeting. The presidents of a region elect a vocal to serve for two years. The vocals attend the regional presidents meeting and a national AACREA meeting once each month. At this point, CREA appears to be a very "bottom-up" approach, where many decisions are made at the local level. Each group pays money to the region and to the national organization. The national organization also organizes a meeting (or two) once a year for all farmers. They conduct some other types of research, such as the impact of agriculture on the economy. I have a meeting next week with AACREA in the City of Buenos Aires and hope to learn more about the national organization.

Each group is responsible for hiring an advisor and setting the wages, benefits, etc. for that advisor. The advisors are part-time for a group. Some advisors work for two groups, but in different regions. Other advisors take on private clients outside of CREA and/or rent land to make additional income. Most advisors begin as assistants for larger groups. Also, many advisors say that they make more with the private consulting than with the CREA, but being a CREA advisor opens the door for them to do private consulting.

The regional coordinator is also a part-time position and private consulting or management of farms are often done to supplement income.

I have been told by people in CREA and out of CREA that CREA farmers are generally larger and generally known to have good farming practices and good business skills. My view of Argentina grain farming is probably a bit skewed at this point since I am visiting mostly CREA farms.

I hope to visit a few other farms while I'm here, so maybe I'll get a bigger picture of agriculture in Argentina.

CREA - The Group Meeting

This week, I was invited to attend a CREA group meeting (CREA Posta Espinollos). About nine farming operations were represented. Husbands and wives were welcome. Most in the group spoke English, but the meeting was conducted in Spanish. Periodically, someone would translate for me. Not knowing Spanish was a limitation in that I missed a lot of the conversation. On the other hand, I was forced to pay close attention to facial expressions, body language, eye contact, etc.

After introductions, the group settled on the covered patio with coffee, yerba mate and pastries. For the first two hours, each person took turns updating the rest on their operations. Most had too much rain. As the morning progressed, we dodged the warming sun... moving chairs to the shade. There were no shorts at this meeting... this was business. But it was more than business. There was lots of laughter, joking, pointing and jumping into the conversation.

The group president is Maximo Uranga and it was his turn to host the meeting. While that meant Maximo provided the food, beverages and house, it also meant that Maximo had to present his business operations for the past year. He took about 90 minutes or so to review a booklet he put together for each person in the group. It included the financials for the last year, the projected financials for the coming year and the objectives for his business as well as his family. Yields, land in each crop and a graph of the past 13 years were also included to help each member understand Maximo's business.

After Maximo was finished, the group broke into two smaller groups and discussed Maximo's questions. Maximo and the CREA advisor, Juan Pablo, were not allowed to participate in the smaller groups. The details of the business and the problems addressed are to remain within the group, so I will not discuss them here. The topics related to farm business structure, economics and family. The smaller groups worked for about an hour on Maximo's questions. One person in each small group  wrote notes. After both small groups were finished, everyone met in one area again. One person from each of the smaller groups read the notes to Maximo. Again, I wish I knew Spanish. I could tell from the facial expressions that Maximo was both excited and nervous to receive the comments from the groups. It takes a lot of courage to take criticism from peers. This criticism is what improves everyone.

Once that was complete, they had a guest speaker talk about something of interest. In this case, I was the guest speaker. I hope it was of interest.

After that, the CREA group met alone (without Juan Pablo or me) to discuss institutional issues of the group. It was a very interesting day.

Maximo presents his business information to the rest of the CREA group.

The smaller groups discuss the questions of Maximo and other issues relevant to his operation.

Maximo receives the reports from the two small groups.

Manuel reads the notes from the small groups as Juan Pablo, the CREA advisor, records the comments.

Argentina - Getting Started

The goal of this blog is to provide some brief updates on my sabbatical in Argentina. My purpose for being here is to learn more about how farmers here work together to improve agronomics, economics and the sustainability of their operations.

Some farmers here have formed groups of about 10 people. These groups are called CREA (an acronym that I will have to pull in later). These groups hire an advisor who visits the fields of each farmer once a month. In addition, the farmers meet as a group about once a month. In these groups, one farmer will provide all details of his/her operation, including the economics. The other farmers will review the details and provide feedback on ways to improve the operation.

Each group elects a president to serve for two years. The presidents of all groups in a region elect a 'vocal' to serve two years. The groups in a region also hire a regional coordinator.  Santiago Nobile is president of his CREA group. He and his family helped us looked for housing. Jorge Minteguiaga is the Regional Coordinator for CREA Sur de Santa Fe and he also helped us look for housing. Carlos Jolly is the Vocal for CREA Sur de Santa Fe. Both Santiago and Carlos have welcomed me to their homes.

Santiago and Jorge gave an overview of CREA to our Kentucky farmers when they visited the area. At the start of the presentation, our farmers said there was no way this could work in Kentucky. By the end of the week, they thought that CREA might be a possibility. During my sabbatical, I'm going to try to figure out if a concept like CREA would work back home. To do that, I need to learn how CREA works. Stay tuned...