Twenty-eight students — 22 undergraduate and six graduate students – along with five K-State faculty members boarded a plane on January 4, 2015 in Kansas City and flew into Porto Alegre, Brazil for a 13-day adventure to tour Brazil on the “Food and Bio-energy Production in Tropical Environments” faculty-led study tour.
To participate in this trip, a student did not have to be enrolled in agronomy. While many of the students were studying agronomy, others were majoring in agricultural economics, biological systems engineering, animal science and industry, and agricultural technology management. At K-State, faculty-led international study trips are offered to students with an interest in foreign agriculture. The students are able to pick from a variety of trips sponsored by the College of Agriculture.
Students that attend the Brazil trip were John Bergkamp, Patrick Bergkamp, Nick Borth, Benjamin Brown, Erin Bush, Craig Busse, Kurtis Clawson, Hannah Corpstein, Vincent DeMaranville, Cristie Edwards, Craig Griswold, Hayden Guetterman, Garrison Gundy, Jaret Kluender, Jared Kohls, Breanna Korus, Matti Kuykendall, Emily Lingenfelter, Ashley Lorence, Bailey McHenry, Brook Morris, Trenton Newell, Evelyn Nordberg, Levi Rapp, Blake Reinecke, Nathan Stinson, Kenneth Tharman, Arnoldo Umana, and Joseph Weeks.
The Brazil study tour cost approximately $4,800 per person, with $2,600 per person paid from grants and contributions from Monsanto. Scholarships were also available to to help students cut the remaining costs.
Students and faculty had the opportunity to tour a sugar mill, sugar cane ethanol plant, Monsanto Biotechnology, STARA Precision Ag, and many local farmers. One of the farms toured is owned by former a K-State graduate student, Ingrid Arns.
Matti Kuykendall, graduate student in agronomy, found the trip very worthwhile.
“We enjoyed talking to the farmers there and sharing mutual grievances. It was interesting to see how they think differently about things or to find out what problems they are dealing with and how they can be so different from ours,” Kuykendall said.
Along with learning about the agronomy and agricultural industries of Brazil, the students were able to experience Brazilian culture first hand by touring the “Football” museum, watching a gaucho show, and tasting many of the cultural dishes.
Many trip participants would recommend international travel to other agriculture students. Dr. Nathan Nelson, associate professor in the Department of Agronomy believes these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are vital for a student’s education.
“Even if they visit a foreign country again in the future, they will not have the same kind of opportunity to have a personal connection and face-to-face discussion with producers that they would have on these tours. So it’s more than just visiting another country. It’s learning about their agriculture, soils, climate, and cropping systems, and how all those factors work together to meet their food supply needs,” said Nelson.
By Celine Biggs
