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"Farmers are the same everywhere; they’re great people."

That’s what Mike Pullins, executive director of Ohio Farm Bureau’s development corporation, said after a recent trip to Chile and Argentina. Nineteen Ohio Farm Bureau members visited the Latin American countries between February 18 and March 3; two Indiana Farm Bureau members were also on the tour.

Farm Bureau members toured several large farms, where they were often greeted with exotic produce samples and luncheons while learning about farming in different countries. Farm Bureau members, such as Jo Ann Murtha, said the people the group met were very hospitable and "proud of what they have, what they’re doing."

The group toured the national market for Chile, Lo Valledor Farmer’s Market in Santiago. Pullins said it’s a 200-acre facility where producers and wholesalers bring in the produce so supermarkets, small grocery stores and street vendors can buy the products; however, the highest quality produce from Chile is exported.

"This wholesale market supplies 80 percent of the domestic market," Pullins said.

A highlight of the tour included a stop at Agrifrutti in the town of Yah Yah. The company has 250 hectares of avocados and table grapes, including red globe and Thompson seedless.

Murtha was impressed by the drip irrigation system in use.

"Because of the system, they could grow avocados on the sides of the hills," she said.

The group also toured a large vineyard and winery, San Pedro, in Vina Del Mar. Pullins said the company is the largest in Chile, producing 37 million liters of wine each year.

"We visited the wine cellar where the high-priced wines are stored," Pullins said. "The cellar was built in 1865 of brick, lime and egg whites."

Members also watched a livestock auction at Mercado de Liniers in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the country’s sale of livestock has been hampered recently by an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease.

"When our group arrived, we were told that 10,700 head had been delivered to the market for sale that day," he said. Typically, there are 160,000 head of cattle marketed each day in Argentina. Pullins said most of the cattle sold at Mercado de Liniers are destined for the domestic market – the producer delivers cattle sold for export directly to the packer.

Pullins said that second to beef, Argentina exports more than $100 million worth of garlic annually.

"The area near the INTA Agricultural Research and Extension facility, near Mount Aconcagau, is successful in growing garlic because of the low incidence of disease and pests, plus the weather is mild and dry," he said.

The facility has received public and private funds for a six-year research effort to focus on post- harvest handling. Pullins said most growers lose 20 to 30 percent of production from rot and discoloration during the drying process.

Overall, Pullins said the group walked away with a new appreciation for farming and livestock operations in other countries. From a policy standpoint, Pullins also said the group learned a lot.

"It was an opportunity to experience agriculture in a different country operating under a different regulatory climate," Pullins said.

He said the government in Chile over the past 25 years has been very supportive in providing resources to farmers and encouraging ag commodities for export to gain foreign exchange.

Plus, he said, farmers in the United States could learn more about customer service by studying practices in those Latin American countries.

"One thing that was apparent in meeting with farmers and processors in Chile is their knowledge of and responsiveness to their customers. It’s something we’re trying to expand and give greater focus to in the United States," he said.

Caption: Local host and consulting agronomist Vicente Valdivieso Ruiz-Tagle shows OFBF members red globe grapes ripe for picking at the Agrifrutti company in the town of Yah Yah in Chile. Standing, from left to right, are OFBF members David Mizer of Cadiz, Doug Yeary of Adamsville, host Ruiz-Tagle and guide Fred Smith. Photo submitted by Mike Pullins