CEFS in Uruguay

Tiffanee Conrad-Acuña 12/12/07 INIA Las Brujas

Here we are at INIA Las Brujas (first photo below).  Las Brujas means "the witches" in Spanish and was named after the town where it is located.  Las Brujas was named after three ladies who used to sell herbs to the townfolk.   INIA stands for Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria.  It is an experiment station  that focuses on agricultural production and environmental sustainability.  I cannot list all of the research that is performed at INIA since the work done there is so much like Extension work in that it is tremendous and covers a huge gamete, however a few of the projects include:  meat and wool production, pastures, soil and plant analysis, irrigation monitoring, forecasting for diseases and pests, manure management (particularly with rabbits), bioinsecticides, and biopesticides.   The research is always relevant to what the farmers need.  They also do research with Holstein dairy cattle and the Friesland breed of sheep.  The Frieslands are a multipurpose breed used for milk, meat, and wool.  INIA is planning to build a facility to milk the sheep much like a smaller scale version that is used for the cattle.  After we got back to the city, Autumn and I went to a leather shop where she bought one of the most beautiful (and comfortable) saddles that I've ever seen in my life.  Here she is in the taxi with her saddle since it was too heavy to carry very far (second photo below).  Her saddle is very similiar to the one shown here on the horse, as is the Uruguayan style (third photo below).  It is very comfortable so that the gauchos can spend many hours in the saddle without getting tired.  Uruguay is truly a fascinating country, and even if we spent a year here, we would only begin to uncover its beauty and culture!

Posted at 08:23AM Jan 11, 2008 by Tiffanee Conrad-Acuna in General  |  Comments[0]

Our first day, 12-8-07

Adam Smith Arriving two days before the group, I had the opportunity to interact with another side of Uruguay.  I stayed with a friend who lived within walking distance to the beach. The day the group was to arrive, I took the bus to London Palace, the group's hotel, at 11:30am. I arrived at 12:30pm and the group didn't arrive until 2:00pm.  Most of the group seemed really tired -- and I heard that a screaming baby on the plane was to blame. But with no time to waste, the group split and went separate ways to explore the capital city of Montevideo. We were treated to a wonderful, protein-packed dinner that lasted well into the night. Our hosts made us feel at home, something we all needed to start the trip off right.    

Posted at 08:30AM Jan 07, 2008 by Adam Smith in General  |  Comments[0]

Saturday, 12-15-07 - Martha L. Mobley

What a wonderful  and "eye opening" trip to Uruguay!  On Saturday, the 15th, our day began by enjoying a REAL country breakfast... a slice of homemade bread, butter, a fruity-molassas type spread, cheese and good HOT leche or milk.... taste like what my grandmother served years ago... You have to be sustainable on the family farm in order to survive... This trip made me realize how we, as Americans,  take too many everyday items for granted... such as refrigeration, skim milk, ice, etc. 

My main focus of the trip was learning about Uruguay's livestock industry... their "harvest facilities"... (sorry we could not arrange to visit one while there) ... and organic meat production and marketing.  I asked why we only saw open-topped double-hitched livestock trailers on the  highways.... no individuals hauling livestock on the roads... I was told the "harvest" facilities pick up and deliver the cattle directly to the stockyards/harvest site.   On our return trip from Tacuarembo to Montevideo, we saw so many animals tettered along the sides of the roads.. seemed like every family had its own dairy cow or horse... we even saw a rabbit tettered in someone's front yard!   Red cattle seem to "rule" in Uruguay which is not the case in the US.... they must be polled/horned Hereford and Red Angus...  Brahman cattle are being introduced... which is somewhat confusing since they have "tenderness" issues ... and the country's main grassfed cattle export is to Europe.

On the long return bus trip, it gave me a chance to write many notes on the country and its people ... since I have to give several presentations to groups once I return.. I hope my photos are clear... The country is so expansive and beautiful.... it reminds of the mid-western ranches in the US... like in Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado....  I was surprised of the land/acre prices being so high.... $1,500 -- $2,000 per acre...  According to a visiting Canadian Beef Cattle Veterinarian I met in the airport on Saturday evening,  land prices in both Uruguay and Argentina have  increased tremendously in the last several years.... more foreign "absentee" investors are owning the larger cattle operations.  I really was impressed with the cattle:sheep:horse: people ratio, which is 3:3:1:1 (9 million cattle, 9 million sheep, 3 million horses and 3 million people).   1.5 million of those people live in Montevideo alone!  

Overall, the trip was a once-in-a lifetime trip for me.  I realize the agricultural producers are basically the same as we have in the US... as an Extension Agent, we heard issues dealing with production and marketing.  I hope we as a group were able to address a few concerns to assist the producers with production and marketing... including food safety. 

I would have liked to have seen a real "gaucho" ... with the complete riding attire... guess next time ....  Think we saw some individuals herding cattle on the bus trip home through the bus window.... not often does a US bus have to stop to let a stray cow cross the 2-lane highway....  A special "thanks" to the wonderful hosts of our trip in Uruguay... it is truly a special place...

Posted at 10:46AM Dec 21, 2007 by Martha Leonard Mobley in General  |  Comments[0]

physically back in NC, but mentally.....

Friday, 12-14-07 - Melissa Bell Well, my day to blog was Friday and we were still up in "the interior" so I had to wait till I was back in my tidy little NC State office.

I want to blog about Bio-Uruguay.  the site was absolutely beautiful.  i had a hard time wrapping my little head around those eternally expansive vistas.  impossible to capture on camera.  the place was impressive from the minute we stepped off the bus.  we arrived late at night to a wonderful greeting, more stars than i have seen in ten years, and an excellent bowl of soup (not sopa, soPOW!).

there were three main buildings on the grounds: a small house with 5 beds, a meeting room with 22 beds upstairs.  all the beds/bunk beds, the whole structure was home made.  bluegum poles and a thatch roof.  my dream house.  the last building housed the kitchen and dining room downstairs and quarters for the staff above.  besides these there were the very impressive composting toilets (which smell WAY better than Kenyan cho's (outhouses), a replica of an old style Gaucho house, a bird watching platform and then the farm structures. 

Alda is the director.  she is like the Uruguayan Nancy Creamer, impressive as hell and completely energizing.  like Nancy you can see her dedication to her work in her eyes and smile.  she wrote a book on organic agriculture in Uruguay and at the time it was the only writing on the subject in the country. she works a full time job in Montevideo to support herself and her kids.  she gave us background on Bio and a summary of their work to date.  their impact is great because they are working with a clean slate really, somewhere along the line the people forgot about cultivating fruit and vegetables. i find it hard to believe that the people never cultivated vegetables, but perhaps.  they seem to be making a positive impact in the area.  and a very tangible one.
and man can they grow some good produce!  we ate VERY well while we were there.  sure was nice to have a flavor packed organic, local tomato in December! 

the farm was impressive.  i geeked out taking photos of their tomato trellising systems and their chicken tractor.  and i saw a leaf cutter ant!!  wow.  their produce looked very good, although they said they are just days away from abandoning them if they don't get rain. sounds like NC. 

i would encourage people to look Bio-Uruguay up on the internet and consider a donation or becoming a member.   we are talking valuable grassroots work here.  i do believe that sometimes the world's challenges are overwhelming, and that sometimes we can only hope to make our little corner of the world the best it can be, but shoot, BIO is teaching people how to grow vegetables for their families to eat, that is really taking care of your corner, and through the wonderful worldwide web...we can reach out too.

friday night we drank wine, feasted on a sacrificial cow, danced to accordion music and looked for shooting stars.  the next morning i went for a walk down one of the endless dirt roads.  sometimes it's crazy how beautiful life is. 
we still aren't sure about the real southern cross though....we might have to go back. 


melissa

Posted at 02:20PM Dec 19, 2007 by melissa bell in General  |  Comments[0]

Grupo Punto Verde

Monday, 12-10-07 - Kevin Starr We visited our first two farms on Monday.  Both are members of the Punto Verde organic cooperative.  The first was owned by the Hermanos Bentancur.  They seemed to be doing a good job of producing crops in the season extension houses and in the field with a diverse crop mix.  The next farm was owned by the Jorge Garrido family.  This visit was highlighted by the owner's two sons and their dog.  The younger son kept rough-housing with the dog and then seemed surprised when it grabbed his shirt with it's teeth.  Some things don't change regardless of where you are in the world.

I hope they continue to be successful with their cooperative.  These organizations seem to have a difficult time maintaining themselves here in the states.

I wanted to comment on the zapallito (or zapallo) de tronco that we saw at the farmes market and supermarket.  It can apparently be used as a summer or winter squash.  I think it has possibilities for our famers market growers.  There are a couple of places on the web that list it and I'm trying to verify it's availabilty for spring.

Posted at 02:16PM Dec 19, 2007 by Kevin Dean Starr in General  |  Comments[0]

Saturday, 12-15-07 - Lisa Forehand

Believe it or not there were actually some hard core runners that continued on even in Uruguay. While I would REALLY like to consider myself part of that group,  I think I am in much more of a 'leisurely trot' category. But I guess it is better than sitting in around eating bonbons and ham & cheese pasteries.

I had thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish lesson on Friday (12-16) where we got to learn all about the gaucho culture, but sadly, our Spanish lesson was cancelled for today, so we headed into Tacuarembo to do a little sight seeing and shopping. Because I kept perhaps the most awesome travel journal in the entire world, I was out of glue and on the hunt for both glue and clear nail polish to control the "chiggers' or whatever other kind of flesh eating virus we had encountered. (Doubt any one else mentioned that, huh!) Try as they might, I am not sure a single one of our group was spared!!!! Even Dr. Mueller had to admit a few!

Although I got those two things taken care of very quickly (with help from Marta) I decided it was the perfect opportunity to stock up on the stuff that I really did not need. So I bought a Mate cup that was fitted into the inside of a cow foot (hoof and all) and engraved with Tacuarembo. (When in Rome....).

After finishing up everything in town we headed back to BIO-Uruguay for a fantastic lunch (as usual), packed and got on the road to head back to Montevideo. It was a long bus trip and really scenic if pasture, cows, sheep and the occasional rhea are what really get you pumped.

We checked back into the London Palace, FINALLY got showers and cleaned up and our group (me, Jean-Marie, Gary, Chris, Nancy, Michelle, Natalie and Gina) had one last meal at good ole El Fogon! We ordered the petite filets which still must have been pushing 10-12 oz. while Nancy and Chris shared a plate of lamb which was superb! Cannot remember what Gina & Natalie got - sorry.

After that we were all pretty beat and headed back to the hotel to relax and get some rest. We had absolutely nothing planned for the next day other than pack and be out by 1:30 so the opportunity to sleep in was appreciated by all!

Posted at 01:16PM Dec 19, 2007 by Lisa Forehand in General  |  Comments[0]

Leaving

Mary Helen Ferguson It's our last day here in Uruguay.  A good many of us are sitting around the hotel lobby, waiting for the bus to take us to the airport.  It's been a relaxed day--we've been able to do as we wanted for most of the day. 

We returned to Montevideo yesterday from our time in the department (state) of Tacuarembó, which may have been my favorite part of the trip.  This is in the rural northern part of Uruguay.  I think I was told that the city of Tacuarembó has about 50,000 people.  According to Wikipedia, the 2004 population of the department was a it over 90,000.  Our base in Tacuarembó was BIO-Uruguay.  This is an organic ag organization that works with people in the area who want to grow food for their families or commercially.  We slept in thatch-roofed bunks with open windows and had the use of composting restroom and shower facilities.  The food was really good, for the most part.  I was under the impression that they literally slaughtered a cow (or had it done elsewhere) for the fiesta we had our last night there, but I'm not sure about this.  This was the only meat we had during our time there--most days we had bread, veggies and fruit from the farm.

Well, the bus is here.  You'll hear more, from me and/or others, later.

Posted at 02:22PM Dec 16, 2007 by Ferguson, Mary Helen in General  |  Comments[0]

Beautiful lettuce

Natalie Hampton
Today was our last full day in Tacuarembo, and we visited two more local organic operations. The first was a family operation that raises lettuce and other greens for a local supermarket. The grower used composted rumen contents from a local slaughterhouse to create raised beds. The lettuce raised under plastic was beautiful, and the beds were immaculate. The growers start their own seedlings in styrofoam containers. We also visited an operation that raises organic honey for export, the only organic product we've seen so far that carries a price premium. The grower exports his product to Germany. In the afternoon, we wrapped up our case studies on these two operations and BIO-Uruguay.

To end our stay, our hosts at BIO treated us to a dinner of grilled beef, bread and sausages, salad and the wine we brought from Montevideo. A local accordian player provided traditional music.  It was a wonderful celebration.

The night sky at BIO was filled with stars. We sat outside looking for southern hemisphere constellations, like the Southern Cross and Orion standing on his head. Later, we discovered that our star gazing in the grass had created quite a feeding frenzy for BIO chiggers!

This has been a great trip and a really great group to travel with. As one student said, having such a diverse group brought a broad range of knowledge to everything we did. We are very fortunate to have shared this experience.

Posted at 03:11PM Dec 14, 2007 by Natalie Hampton in General  |  Comments[0]

Un poco mas

Suzanne O'Connell Stucco, stone, wood, iron, political grafitti, ocean paseo, shipping containers, grime, cobblestone, tree-lined streets, hatchbacks, minitrucks, garbage horses, mopeds, plazas, statues, tango in the park everyday, glass soda bottles, water con gas, beer, wine (tannat), intestines, kidneys, obliques, mate double-fisted, shade cloth, drip tape, dark brown soil, parasitic wasps, oven birds, wildflowers, thistle, peaches, plums, pumpkin, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, dough with cheese=pizza, hay, forage, oats, wheat, metal shades on windows, sprouting eucalyptus, hydrangea, fuschia bush, palms, roses, ceibo, cactus, lobed oak, pampas, grass, tree windbreaks...............

Posted at 02:33PM Dec 12, 2007 by Suzanne OConnell in General  |  Comments[1]

Impressions 12-11-07

Suzanne O'Connell So far we have seen two organic vegetable operations, a vineyard, and explored Montevideo a bit. The city came alive on Monday after a sleepy weekend and people are on the street from morning until midnight. City blocks support many small businesses and the large Spanish plazas are used as neighborhood landmarks and of course history lessons! I am enjoying being in a walkable city and just as I begin to remember city life and wonder if that is the place for me we headed to the farms...

The chacras (small farms) in the outlying areas have been very impressive. All the producers are recently new to organic production (6-15 years) and are very committed despite the abscence of a price premium. This makes comparisons to the U.S. market a bit difficult as many times the economic sustainability of organic is argued to rest with the higher market prices, is it the difference in labor costs? the standard of living? or something else that makes it work here? I don't have a feel for that yet. All the growers stressed supporting habitat for beneficial insects. What impressed me most about our travels yesterday was how much life (bird, insect, plants) observed at the vineyard operation. Commercial vineyards that I have visited in the U.S. have been very manicured and sterile. Even though the entire operation was not organic due to the varying sensitivity of the the varieties to disease pressure the entire place teemed with life and no insecticides are ever sprayed. Seeing these places is simply further affirmation that environmentally sensitive practices and organic methods work in a multitude of locations and types of operation. I can't wait as we travel to the country-side later today....

Posted at 02:31PM Dec 12, 2007 by Suzanne OConnell in General  |  Comments[0]

Frutas

Tannat winegrapes

Gina Fernandez Although beef production is BIG (there will be more of that in another blog), the area within 50 km of  Montevideo produces produces a fair amount fruit and vegetables that are consumed in Uruguay.  The group visited several vegetable farms in the area. Along the way we also saw lots of fruit crops (my primary interest) in the fields.

So here is my dilemma...

Montevideo and Raleigh are approximately the same distance from the equator. Montevideo is 34 S and Raleigh is 35 N.  Knowing that, I was expecting to see very similar types of fruit growing here, and I did.  They grow peaches, grapes, pear, plums and apples here. But, citris and olives are growing in adjacent fields.  I have never been to a place where a variety of pear that grows in Oregon grows next to a citrus grove.  I asked the folks at INIA (a research station we visted) and they said that temperature only one of the factors that determines what can grow here. Wind (it is very windy here), soil,  rainfall and the influence of the ocean and Rio Plata also figure into what can be grown here. How these all work together is something I will have to think about for awhile.

I was interested in fruit production in in Uruguay and was able to break away from the group for a day and visit fruit scientists at INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigation Agropecuaria). I met with Jorge Soria (a graduate of NCSU) and several others that have ties with NCSU.  We talked about fruit, trellises, varieties and more. I  also visited a small (and perhaps only) raspberry grower in the country. It was a berry good day.....

Posted at 02:35PM Dec 11, 2007 by Gina Fernandez in General  |  Comments[0]

Organic vegetable market in Montevideo

December 9, 2007

Blog by Nancy Creamer
Photo by Natalie Hampton
Technical Assistant Gina Fernandez

Several of us started out at 7:00 for a run or walk along the river, and after a hearty meal with good strong coffee, we boarded the bus for a relatively relaxing Sunday.  With the University offices closed, we did what many do on Sunday? go to an organic farmers market,  and then visit the mall (mega mall!), in this case to visit a large grocery store that carries organic produce. 

Most interesting to me was the organic farmers market (loved those plums)?and listening to a producer and consumer (representing the ?Friends of? group..) share their experiences.

Interestingly, though ranked approximately 8th in the world with amount of land area certified organic (not bad for a fairly small country), they seem to have very little domestic consumption.  The grocery store, while huge (maybe larger than any I?ve seen in the US), had a relatively small display of organic produce and not sure what else was on the shelves.  No certified organic meat in the store, though they are one of the world?s largest suppliers of organic beef.

In speaking with the producer: domestic certification is through a participatory process with consumers, and no federal standard exists.  The participatory process probably works very well as it seems to be a small close-knit group and the consumers are very involved. It would seem integrity would be high.  Average farm size of the small produce producers was 8-10 hectares.  They have an interest (as we do) in protecting heirloom varieties and also some question about the wisdom of GMOs.  There isn?t much of a premium for organics, but selling direct increases profits significantly.  (It would be interesting to learn what the price premium is for organic beef?)

We asked the growers about organic fruit production -- not much here because of the high capital costs involved and limited research to figure out how to produce organic fruit.

The consumer group was formed to help the farmer and have as their three key interests: health issues, flavor, and connecting with (and helping) farmers.  The concept of CSAs isn?t developed here yet, but with consumer connections growing, perhaps this is the next step..

We did finish up on the beach, which was a nice hour to spend on a warm sunny day.  Several of us picnicked in the park for dinner to slow down a little as we were recovering from a very nice filling lunch at a local restaurant provided by our hosts.

Posted at 02:39PM Dec 09, 2007 by Gina Fernandez in General  |  Comments[0]

Sat Dec 8, 2007- Day one of trip

Michelle Schroeder-Moreno We arrived about noon (Uruguay time) and were greeted at the airport by Claudio and Jorge (UDE) and Mata (Bio Uruguay). Most of us were exhausted by the flight but still had energy to room the city. After checking in our hotel (Londen Palace, a great downtown location), a number of us made it down to the older section of Montevideo to find many people in the streets, artisians selling things and flea market by the cathedral. Montevideo is a beautiful city on the Rio Plata and the warm weather was a nice change from the cold of Raleigh.

We all met up for dinner at El Fogon (or the "house of meat" as we came to know it). Dinner was great and very filling with the wine flowing generously. It was a wonderful start to the course. 

Posted at 02:38PM Dec 09, 2007 by Michelle Schroeder-Moreno in General  |  Comments[0]

Waiting at RDU airport

Michelle Schroeder-Moreno and Lisa Forehand are discussing the trip while waiting at the RDU airport. Posted by Gina Fernandez with lots of help from Natalie Hampton.

Posted at 02:36PM Dec 08, 2007 by Gina Fernandez in General  |  Comments[0]

Packing list for Uruguay