Organic Farming with the Brazilians

          While touring all over Brazil, the Hawkeye Community College study abroad group was able to see a vast variety of different crops in production. Our group was able to see corn and soybean fields, coffee trees, large greenhouses full of rice and beans, cotton productions, and much more. One of my favorite farms we visited, and in my mind the most beautiful, was the organic farm. Fazenda Organica Novas Senhora Aparecida was the name of the organic farm we visited. It is located in the country and is very remote. It is run by a farmer who has only a handful of workers and college interns. It’s also a learning facility where people can come visit and learn about organic farming.

We started off the tour by seeing the rehabilitation center he has on his farm for sick or injured animals. He has a few different species in rehabilitation and we were able to see the Hyacinth Macaws. The Hyacinth Macaws are a breed of parrots that are native to Brazil. He helps rehabilitate these sick or injured Macaws until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild. The birds are so beautiful and very unique to see up close.

After seeing the Macaws we started the organic farm tour. This farmer had just about every plant you could imagine growing in his fields. He had corn, soybeans, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas, papayas, coffee, etc. We were able to tour all of the fields and hear him speak about how he cares for and harvest each group organically. The banana trees were my favorite to see because of how many he had and how absolutely beautiful they were. My second favorite was the sugar cane because of how big and green it was. He even let us try both the bananas and sugar cane. His whole farm was so green, luscious, and beautiful that it was almost breathtaking.

We ended the organic farming tour by visiting the farmer’s worm composting barn. In his barn he had several cement pens that were filled with compost. He then had several worms in each pen to help break down the compost. He then puts the compost back onto his field for a form of organic fertilizer once the worms have broken the food and compost down completely. This was very unique and different and the first time I have ever seen anything like that. It would be a great practice to implement for organic farmers back in the United States. Our time spent at the organic farm was full of great views, new insights, and a lot of learning.