Observations from Dean Campbell, Coulterville, Ill.
Today we planned to visit a crushing plant near Primavera do Leste, but plans changed and instead we visited a cotton co-op. The facility uses ISO standards as part of their cotton marketing. I thought this was very intriguing. Also, their cooperative is different from Illinois cooperatives. Farmers join together to locate markets, but not necessarily to market the cotton. I see more of our cooperatives in the United States doing the physical marketing of inputs and outputs instead of facilitating it.
We also learned that quality control is an aspect of cotton breeding and figuring out how this affects cotton classes and grades. I could see that concept going into soybeans, especially as specialty soybean oil markets develop. Farmers who raise cotton and soybeans have similar issues such as using fungicides, insecticides and fighting nematodes. Eliminating hosts for these pests is an issue for us as well as for them.
I think people around the world are people. They like to put enjoyment in what they do every day. Other than the language barrier, people, farmers and consumers are all the same all around the world. I think that is clearer every day we are here. If can you communicate, you can put similarities together between us.
Up next we are heading to Curitiba in the state of Parana. While Mato Grosso is a northern production state and the largest soybean state, Parana is located farther south and is second in production.
Later this week, I am looking forward to seeing more things where we can compare activities between Illinois and other places. I want to learn how we can improve things in the future that will affect international matters.
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