Green Academy and Custom Farming

We kicked off our final day in Denmark by learning more about the activities at Green Academy, who have hosted us since Tuesday. They are a vocational school and have strong agriculture, horticulture, forestry, zoo keeper and a variety of other programs. We look forward to building future programming with Green Academy. We were able to explore their horticulture campus this morning. Following lunch we visited a family that farms their own land, custom farms for others, and provides construction projects assistance with their tractors and heavy machinery. This provided a great opportunity to explore their equipment and have a discussion on crop production in Denmark.

For the evening we explored the city of Aarhus. We visited the Queen's summer home, found time to shop, explored the Salling Rooftop, and enjoyed dinner at Aarhus Street Food. Thank you to Karolina, Peder, Julie, Niels, and all at Green Academy for their hospitality.

Soon we will be headed to the airport to start our trek home. Catch up on today's happening with our video recap linked here. 

Sunshine and Soccer

Today was a spectacular day weather wise and educationally. We started our day by visiting Viking Genetics. They handle dairy and beef collection and sale of semen with most of their business in the dairy sector. They have 90% of the market in Denmark and send semen all over the world. We had great discussions on genetics and the future of the industry. From Viking Genetics we visited an organic agriculture school. We were able to see crop and animal production. They teach the same curriculum as other agriculture schools in Denmark, but from the organic angle.

When we returned to campus we met up with Karolina at Green Academy and enjoyed a spectacular dinner. To wrap up our evening we played a little soccer on campus. Linked is a video recap of our day. 

Research and Rain

We had a little bit of rain today as we visited the research area for Aarhus University near Foulum. Due to the rain we started with dairy research where they were measuring methane output from cattle and working to bring the levels down. They were running different feed trials as well. We then learned about the process of protein extraction from grasses and other crops. Following lunch we headed to the fields to learn about different grasses, clover, and crops being grown in Denmark for biomass production. We were, also, able to analyze the equipment used at the research facility.

We returned to campus for another great dinner and headed into town via train to explore the city of Aarhus. Catch up on our busy day with today's video recap linked here!

Transparency in Agriculture

Today we trekked out and started our day touring the Danish Crown Beef Slaughterhouse. The Danish Crown facility was built to welcome visitors. Every stage of the process has a viewing window so visitors can learn about the entire process from start to finish. Danish Crown kept mentioning they have no problem showing the entire process to visitors as they have nothing to hide. After grabbing lunch we traveled up to the Aarhus area and visited a robotic dairy where transparency was emphasized just as it was at Danish Crown. The public is welcomed at the farm anytime. Robots are used to milk, push feed, clean manure, and refresh bedding. It is one of the most modern dairies in all of Denmark.

For our remaining days in Denmark we will be hosted by Green Academy near Aarhus. We were able to tour their school farm where they had everything from hogs to reptiles. We enjoyed dinner on campus followed by a soccer game for a little exercise and are hoping to catch the United States Women's National Team compete in the Women's World Cup later tonight. Catch up on our busy Tuesday with today's video recap!

Museum and Vineyard Time

We kicked off the last day of our holiday weekend in Denmark by visiting a museum highlighting nature in Denmark from bird migrations, storm surges, wildlife, and the ecosystem. After an engaging morning we visited a local winery for lunch. All food and products served were locally grown and sourced. While at the winery we were able to visit the vineyard to learn about grape production and then made our way to the winery where wine is produced. We concluded a great day with dinner near the beach and a walk along the shoreline. Tomorrow we move back to the mainland and the Aarhus area. Catch up on today's happenings with the linked video recap!

Sunday Exploring in Denmark

Today and tomorrow things are slow in Denmark as there is a national holiday. This will slow agriculture activities down and allow us time to explore some unique areas of Denmark. Today we traveled to Ribe, the oldest city in Denmark (over 1,000 years old). We had the opportunity to attend a church service for those interested, visit shops, enjoy a delicious lunch, climb to the top of the church tower to view the city, and explore a viking celebration.

After returning to the island of Fanoe by ferry we enjoyed an ice cream treat and made our way to watch seals who were sun bathing. After another spectacular meal we explored a local school and had great conversations with our hosts Ove and Else Marie. Catch up on our Sunday in Denmark by clicking on this link to view our video recap of the day!

Island Life

Today we explored the island of Fanoe in Denmark. While the weather hasn't cooperated to let us truly enjoy island life we have still had a great day. We started off with a visit to a farm where they sell meat and products they produce. We were able to learn about many of their production practises with livestock. We, also, visited a church before taking a drive on the beach along the ocean. It was going very well until we found some sand dunes on our way to exit the beach. It provided a great morning workout as we dug the van out.

For lunch we enjoyed a variety of Danish pancakes before exploring more of the island. We were able to visit a museum that showcased what it was like to live on the island over 300 years ago, as well, as explore bunkers that dot the coastline from World War II.

This evening involved a nice dinner and social time to reflect on our experience to this time. We look forward to what the next week has in store. Click here for a video recap of the day.

Getting Rural in Denmark

Today we kicked off our day visiting a dairy milking 500 head of cows. The farmer actually removed robots from his operation in order to expand with future growth potential yet to come. Everyone was impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the dairy operation. From the farm we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch before visiting AgroLab which tests chemicals for outside companies and helps them get their products approved for the market. We learned about the process, checked out the equipment used, and looked at some test plots. We also discovered that 85% of the land in Denmark is utilized for agriculture.

We enjoyed a relaxing evening and dinner at Ove and Else Marie's home on the island of Fanoe. Fanoe will be our home base over the next couple days as we enjoy our weekend in Denmark. Check out this YouTube link for a recap of our day!

Hit the Ground Running in Denmark

We have arrived! After a long day of travel we arrived in Copenhagen where we took a boat tour of the city and visited many landmarks, including buildings well over 400 years old. After a relaxing lunch water side we headed out on a couple hour drive to Odense where the Dalum Agriculture College is located. We enjoyed dinner and a tour of campus. Great discussion was had on education delivery and agriculture training in Denmark. We look forward to tomorrow as we make our way to a dairy farm and AgroLab. Here is a video recap of our first day in Denmark!

Discovering Denmark

Today a group of us head to Denmark to learn about innovative methods in agriculture! It will be 10 days packed with analyzing and learning about agricultural  methods to improve agriculture at home and abroad. We encourage you to watch our blog and social media platforms over the coming days and join us on our journey!

Brazil Agribusiness and Irrigation

Today was our final full day in Brazil. We started the day at UnB with a presentation on Brazil Agribusiness. From there we made our way to the largest irrigation area in Brazil for producing crops. We were able to discover the techniques of irrigation crop production. Following our time at the farm they welcomed us to a BBQ and we celebrated a birthday as well. Here is today's video recap.

Pirenopolis Paradise

Today we had a great day hiking and swimming at Pirenopolis. It was a refreshing day in the natural spring waterfalls. After lunch we explored the historic town before making our way to Brasilia which will be our home base until our departure Saturday evening. Check out today’s video recap.

Feed Production and Processing in Brazil

Wednesday we had a little later start due to a late Tuesday night return. We had a great visit to a feed processing facility. They grew their own crops and then built their own processing facility from scratch. We were also able to visit a retail farm store before enjoying lunch and pool time. Here is a video recap of Wednesday.

Dairy and Grain Production in Brazil

Today was a long, but great day! We started off at Piracanjuba learning about dairy production in Brazil. They provide hands-on training for all aspects of dairy production. We then made our way to a large soybean, corn, and wheat farm. We were able to ask many questions and learn about their entire operation. They had six combines operating in the soybean field we visited. Here is a video recap from the day.

Research and Taking to the Fields

Today was a great day diving back into agriculture in Brazil! We started off the day by traveling to Embrapa just outside of Goiania. This Embrapa location conducts research in a variety of areas including (but not limited to) rice, beans, cotton, soybeans, corn, and beef cattle. Our visit was focused on the Embrapa structure, tours of different labs, and then we took to the fields to learn about upland rice research.

Next we made our way to the Universidade Federal de Goias to enjoy lunch at the agronomy campus before heading to the main campus to search for monkeys. We were not very successful as we only found one monkey. Next we headed to an organic farm that also rehabilitates wild animals. We got to check out anteaters, edible flowers, fruit production, vegetable production and discuss organic production in Brazil. We concluded our evening with a steak dinner before returning to our hotel and the roof top pool to reflect on our day. See the video recap from today below.

Relaxing Sunday in Brazil

Today was a great Sunday in Brazil! We started with a stroll in a local park, enjoyed much of our day hosted by Juarez and his family, checked out a soccer game, had some roof top time, and wrapped up the evening with dinner in yet another open air restaurant. Check out Sunday's video recap below!

Field Day in Brazil

Today we enjoyed time learning about crop production at the Ceres Field Day near Intumbiara. We discussed topics from seed genetics to fertilizers and chemicals. Following our time at the field day we traveled to Goiania which will serve as our home base through Thursday. We capped off a great day with dinner together and great conversations around the pool on the rooftop. Here is a short video review of our Saturday in Brazil.

Not Going to Sugar Coat It: Today was spectacular!

Today was a great first full day in Brazil! We took to the fields first thing in the morning exploring sugar cane production for sugar and ethanol. We then enjoyed a great lunch at a churrascaria before heading to Corteva in the afternoon. We wrapped up a great day with dinner with our friends from Brazil. Check out this video recap of the day!

Next Stop: Brazil

We are on our way to Brazil! Over the next week and a half students from Hawkeye Community College and Joliet Junior College will embark on agricultural and cultural excursions and experiences in Brazil. We encourage you to follow our adventures on this blog as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Wheels up!

Fifty in Five

We hit the ground running in Brazil today! Our travels were very successful with all flights being on time with stops in Chicago and Miami flying out of Waterloo on our way to Brasilia. We arrived in Brasilia at about 9:00 AM (or 6:00 AM Iowa time). Once we claimed our luggage we met up with Juarez and our driver. We started out with a quick driving tour and visit to the national cathedral. We had plans to visit the TV tour to get a bird’s eye view of the city, but unfortunatley, it was closed due to a worker strike. This did, however, provide us time to meet up with Jose.

For lunch we made our way to a local mall and the food court. The group was split between a Brazilian buffet and Giraffes (a local burger joint). After lunch we visited the JK Memorial. This is a memorial for President Juscelino Kubitschek, who ran on the platform of moving the capital of Brazil to the central part of the country and had the vision of creating Brasilia which is now 57 years old. He implemented his “Fifty in Five” plan as president. This was fifty years of progress in five years time. JK was very successful creating the federal district in three years and creating an automobile and shipbuilding industry in Brazil among with many other advancements. We were able to see many artifacts from him and his wife, Sarah. We even got to see the remaining books of the original Shakespeare book collection given to the Kubitscheks as a gift. JK’s story is truly remarkable.

Following our time at the JK Memorial we checked in at our hotel and prepped for our evening. As we prepared to head out the rain started, so our site seeing plans changed a bit. Instead we went to the mall to pull out cash for later shopping and by the time this was completed the rain had stopped. We visited the three powers square and checked out the Presidential Palace, the Supreme Court, and many monuments. For dinner we enjoyed Mangai, which is a massive Brazilian buffet. Many loved the fresh fruits and variety of desserts.

For the past 32 hours of traveling and exploring Brazil it has felt like we have been going fifty mph on five minutes of sleep. We are now reflecting on our day on the rooftop poolside. Tomorrow we are excited to visit the Ministry of Agriculture and learn more about agriculture in Brazil. Ate amanha!!!