Our final adventure on March 22^nd took place in Aromas and Watsonville at the largest berry producer in the United States, Driscoll’s. At Driscoll’s we had the pleasure to meet with Lisa Beatty and Sam Silva. They kicked off our tour by showing us around their largest distribution center and explaining how the operation works. Sam informed us that Driscoll’s began selling exclusively domestic strawberries, and since has expanded to growing and selling blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries internationally.

Today our ACE 292 class got to visit E & J Gallo Winery located in Modesto, California. We got off to a bumpy start with our bus breaking down in the early morning, but once we got on the road the entire class was ecstatic to head out to Modesto and tour the winery. E & J Winery was founded in September 1933 by the brothers of Ernest and Julio Gallo. When we first got there, we met with Alan Reynolds who is the Director Central Valley Vineyards. Mr. Reynolds hosted and sponsored our amazing lunch for the day, and we wanted to personally thank him for his hospitality.

As we entered another day of our California trip, the class was excited to finally experience some actual California farms. We had visited a couple of farming operations in Central Illinois earlier in the semester, but we soon realized the farms that surround the University of Illinois’s campus are much different than those in California, which sometimes operate year-round, grow dozens of different crops at a time, and face a lot of different issues than Illinois farmers.

Today was the first day of our meetings on our California trip! After a day and a half of getting to explore the city of San Francisco over the weekend, we started our week off bright and early by heading to the first of five meetings. While we were all looking forward our first day of meetings, I think it is safe to say that none of us were quite prepared for just how busy we would actually be. However, even though our day was packed with walking from place to place as well as meeting with a number of interesting people, we all learned a great deal about the agriculture industry today.

This week during spring break, students in Farm, Food, and Environmental Policy (ACE 292) are traveling to Northern California to learn about California’s unique agriculture systems, visit a variety of farms, and meet influential people in the agriculture industry. This educational opportunity gives students a new perspective on agriculture by comparing the policies, operations, and overall perceptions of California and Midwest agriculture. As a class, we are excited for the week ahead as we explore the area and learn more about the breadth and complexities of California agriculture!

Today was the last day of our trip in Brazil and we spent it in Rio de Janeiro. Our day in Rio consisted of our last company presentation, a trip to Christ the Redeemer, free time in the afternoon, and our farewell dinner.

Our morning started off in the city of Dourados as we were greeted at our hotel by a local man selling authentic Brazilian coffee. After some students made their purchases, we had a group lunch at a local restaurant. Early in the afternoon, we travelled to a small agricultural consulting firm by the name of Coperplan. This relatively small firm services 130 producers, with their clients’ average farm size measuring about 500 hectares.

We started our early morning with a 2-hour bumpy adventure down a dirt road to spend the day at Agropecuaria Jacintho Ranch, a large livestock farm near Naviraí in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Three brothers, Fabio, Jose, and Julio Jacintho run the ranch. The group was taken aback by the strong sense of pride after learning that the ranch was passed down by their father and the family will continue to keep the ranch operating in many years to come. The specific ranch we visited is one of the three the family owns.

We had the opportunity to visit the Sindicato Rural de Toledo. Brazil has multiple syndicates because each state funds its own agricultural syndicate. Of these syndicates, the one in Parana provides the most to its members and has the strongest participation. The Sindicato Rural de Toledo was founded in 1967 and functions similar to the Farm Bureau Farm Management organization in the United States with several interesting exceptions. The notable exceptions come from the Sindicato Rural de Toledo providing health insurance and cell phone coverage.

The first Monday of the New Year was exciting for our group! We started the morning bright and early in Iguazu Falls and set out for our next destination in Matelandia. It was a very full day full of new experiences. We visited Lar Cooperative’s Poultry Center, had lunch in a castle themed restaurant, learned about Frimesa while sampling their yummy products, and ended with informational sessions at Lar’s Administrative Center.