Agricultural News
Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Class Members Find Wheat and Cattle Country in Temuco, Chile
Tue, 25 Feb 2020 02:53:31 CST
As Class 19 of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program has traveled south from the Santiago area to now Temuco- a more familiar agriculture has appeared- recently harvested wheat fields(the class just missed wheat harvest around here) and pastures with beef cattle grazing.
Chile raises about half of the wheat that they consume- and most of that wheat is grown around this city of 250,000- and the beef cattle population is slightly smaller than we have in the state of Oklahoma.
OALP gained a lot of perspective on Monday about the agriculture in the region as they interacted with Andreas Kobrich, the Manager of the Society for Agricultural Development in Temuco- this group has been around for just over a hundred years, has several hundred farmers as members- and is best known for an annual farm show that they have produced since they were organized.
Kobrich is an agronomist by training- and he clearly enjoyed talking with the class about the crops and livestock in the Region De La Araucania.
The two principle crops grown are wheat and oats. The wheat is all for the domestic market- it's a hard wheat for bread- and like farmers all over the world- they feel like they don't get as good of a price as they deserve- saying the other half of the wheat consumed in Chile- wheat from places like the US and Oklahoma and Kansas is bought at a higher price than what is paid to Chilean farmers.
The Oats are an export crop- much of that crop goes to Central America. Farmers are also starting to establish fruit trees as they creep southward from around Santiago, several hundred miles to the north- with stands of Apples and Hazel Nuts being established.
The cattle production in the area is beef production- most dairies have migrated further south. Kobrich tells Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays that most producers are partial to Aberdeen Angus.
Like farmers all over the world- Kobrich says they are mostly optimistic- saying last year was not the best year- but thinking this coming season will be better- and he adds they love their land and want to pass it down to their sons and daughters.
You can hear all of Ron's conversation with Andreas Kobrich by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
You can see our pictures from around Temuco and more from our Chile travels in the OALP to Chile Album on Flickr- available here.
The intertnational travel to Chile is the Capstone experience for the Class Nineteen Members of the Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program, a two year program that was established in 1982- based on a public-private partnership of Oklahoma State Univerxity and groups and indivisuals invovlved in agriclture. Over 500 graduates of the program have made a difference in rural life and production agriclture locally and nationally,
To learn more about the program- and to find our how you or someone you know can apply to be a part of Class XX- click or tap here.
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