![\"FernandoMemePt1\"](\"https:\/\/understandingag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/FernandoMemePt1.jpg\" "\\"FernandoMemePt1\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWhen I was a young kid, my grandfather had a painting of a Gaucho riding a horse at full gallop chasing down a cow in the Patagonia Steppe.\u00a0The Gaucho was swinging a set of \u2018boleadoras; above his head, which is the traditional tool to help them wrangle cattle. Ever since I first saw that painting, I always thought to myself, \u2018One day I will visit this place.\u2019 In my mind I have always viewed the scene in that painting as one of the\u00a0<\/b>last frontiers<\/i><\/b>.\u201d <\/b>\u2013 Fernando Falomir<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
This past month Kent Donica and I visited South America on behalf of Understanding Ag to consult in Uruguay and Argentina. When opportunities like this arise, you don\u2019t pass them up. So, I \u201csaddled up,\u201d traveled 30 hours, ready for a good adventure. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We first arrived in Uruguay, and then later I continued by myself to Argentina. It is always very exciting to see cattle operations in different environments. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s in your own \u201cbackyard\u201d or in the farthest, most remote corner of the world. Uruguay can definitely be considered a rancher\u2019s paradise. Its topography of rolling hills, covered with massive eucalyptus trees and beautiful meadows of rye grass, are sure to not disappoint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The landscape in Argentina where I visited was much more arid, and I felt right at home.<\/span><\/p>\n Anytime I visit new people or operations, I enjoy hearing their perspective on the different social and economic issues affecting their local cattle industry. What I have found is that typically cattle markets or government policy does not favor the producers but rather, favors the large industry players. As consultants, we have the unique opportunity to see agriculture and the impact on the environment on a global scale. Sometimes it can be very uplifting, and other times quite the opposite.<\/span><\/p>\n This is a scenic view of the Patagonian steppe. In the foreground, the dominant grass species are coiron (jarava humilis) and tupe (panicum urvilleanum), native warm season perennial species. Both species are not very palatable and are all that have survived continuous grazing for several decades. Pictured in the background there are some \u201cwild horses\u201d that roam freely. Constant grazing pressure has led to lower species diversity and a lot of open grown, at which point the brittle sandy soil becomes susceptible to wind erosion.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Despite the beautiful landscape, favorable growing conditions, and annual precipitation (I only dream about of 39-55 inches a year), what could we possibly have in common? The answer: We are still trying to grow grass on biologically inert dirt. Most of the soils we encountered on our journey were degraded, even if the vegetation looked green. The most common issues regarding soil health are; severe compaction, no aggregate structure or pore space to sustain biogeochemical processes<\/span>,<\/span> little organic matter<\/span>,<\/span> poor water infiltration and low water-holding capacity. In fact, in some areas, you could start to see cactus and all sorts of prickly vegetation starting to dominate pastures, just like back home in the desert. It was evident that centuries of abuse have led to brush encroachment, unpalatable grasses and low species diversity.<\/span><\/p>\n Pictured here is a set of good-looking cows with strong grass-fed genetics. No supplements, minerals or hay are given. The pasture is comprised of dominant cool season grass species, with native grasses like paspalum (paspalum dilatatum ) warm season perennial and many others that are starting to come back due to longer recovery periods.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n We saw a lot of countryside in Uruguay as we drove from ranch to ranch. I observed that a vast majority of the country managed to run out of grass. At first, it was hard to fathom how this was even possible with all the rain they receive. However, it quickly became evident that it doesn\u2019t matter where you are in the world, the management mistakes are the same. We saw continuous grazing everywhere\u2014grazing all the way down to the ground, leaving little plant residue and exposing the soil to the elements with absolutely no chance for recovery. In the end, it is not about how much it rains, or how hot or cold the environment is. All droughts are 100% manmade.<\/span><\/p>\n Pictured here is an example of how the green growth above the ground belies poor soil health and function. The horizontal root growth here shows a distinct compaction layer, where the roots are trying to find the path of least resistance. Some soil aggregates are beginning to form near top, visible darker soil color, as we observe deeper in\u00a0 the soil profile the color of the soil is much lighter and has a strong pungent smell, indicating anaerobic conditions and bacterial dominated microbial community.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The most common limiting factors from a production standpoint are similar regardless of where you are. Management, or lack there of, usually is the main culprit for land degradation. We are also facing a worldwide shortage of qualified labor and are quickly losing our cultural heritage and knowledge of how to manage natural ecosystems. What is worse, is that people are willing to trade their livelihoods and simple country lifestyle for a fighting chance at misery in urban centers. On a global scale, it has become far too common that farmers and ranchers are walking away from their roots and cashing in on their family history. Future generations do not appreciate or want to continue the legacy. instead, they are seeking \u201cbetter\u201d paying jobs to support their families.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was extremely refreshing to get a glimpse of <\/span>how things used to be<\/span><\/i>. Living life without refrigerators; literally cutting a slice of meat from the goat or sheep that was slaughtered a few days ago, just hanging in the shed. During the lunch break in Argentina, the guys would simply unsaddle, light up a fire with brush similar in both appearance and smell to creosebush and cook a \u201cmata hambre,\u201d which translates to \u201chunger killer.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s what they called a flank steak. They cooked the meat over the open fire while drinking a traditional yerba mate tea, looking onto the clear horizon of solitude, sharing stories while giving their horses a rest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you ask me, they have it all figured out. It\u2019s a simple kind of life where comradery and one\u2019s horse has greater value than materialism. And let me tell you, the Gaucho style saddles with thick sheep skin are so comfortable that I might just trade in my wade saddle. The strong Gaucho spirit of self-reliance and working closely with their livestock is very much alive. They take great pride in being good stockmen and it\u2019s something I believe is lacking in the world. We have grown apart from our roots, and most producers consider spending time with their cattle a waste of time. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the second part of this blog, I\u2019ll share some important experiences and insights regarding what I observed and learned about how ranchers in region have adopted a rigorous animal selection process and what that means in terms of fertility, herd health, profitability and adaptability.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The post Where in the World is Understanding Ag?<\/a> appeared first on Understanding Ag<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWhen I was a young kid, my grandfather had a painting of a Gaucho riding a horse at full gallop chasing down a cow in the Patagonia Steppe.\u00a0The Gaucho was swinging a set of \u2018boleadoras; above his head, which is the traditional tool to help them wrangle cattle. Ever since I first saw that painting, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12026],"tags":[5715,2379],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-77568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-understanding","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Picture1\"](\"https:\/\/understandingag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Picture1-1.jpg\" "\\"Picture1\\"")
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