HARVESTING A BOUNTY OF KNOWLEDGE,

It pays to learn how things are done elsewhere

An ice- cream pail full of trail apples, a Thermos full of water and enough food for a long day on the field. These are my childhood memories of harvest.

Of course, the combines were smaller then. I was smaller then. I would lie on the dirty, dusty floor of the cab watching the crop feed into this very large and loud machine. They have passenger seats now. Comfortable ones. And drink holders.

If my neighbouring farmers haven’t started to harvest their wheat, they are about to. The gravel roads are a joyous frenzy of grain trucks, combines and other farm equipment. Farmers love this time of year, especially when they are pulling in a highyielding crop that is priced well in the market.

As for us, we wait. Our farm did not grow wheat, canola or any other crop that is harvested at this time of year. It feels strange not being able to share in the excitement of harvest. When a farm kicks off harvest, it sets in motion a bout of activity that usually lasts well into fall and sometimes shares some cal- endar days with winter.

Mentally — psychologically — it seems harvest is that necessary step through which the farmer can acknowledge and appreciate autumn and accept winter. At least that’s how it’s internalized in Canada.

But, no surprise, harvest happens all over the world and at various times of the year.

We’ll read about Brazil’s harvest during our winter. If they are pulling in good crops in winter, we’ll brace for commodity market price adjustments that reflect a sudden abundance.

Once the southern U. S. crop starts flowing through the system — in Texas, harvest can begin in June or early July — the state of it will further point to what farmers here can expect prices to do. It’s rarely so cut and dried, but this methodology of price forecasting often works in a general sense.

Agriculture is clearly a global enterprise.

“Study grain long enough and the world shrinks,” Dan Morgan writes in the book Merchants of Grain. “The wheat rising here and the demand for break there cease to be isolated events separ- ated by thousands of miles and become interconnected episodes in the ‘Planetary Village.’ ”

This week I will be in Brazil attending a conference and participating in a tour of farms in the state of Mato Grosso.

Brazil is t he world’s second- largest producer of soybeans, trailing only the U.S., and its farms can exceed 100,000 acres in size and produce two crops per year. What they grow, how they grow it and how they deliver it to market are questions of particular interest to other farmers.

How deep do they plant their various crops? What are some of their soil issues? What is their ideal crop ro- tation? What kind of equipment do they use? What does their rail/transportation system look like? What are their policy challenges?

In Canada, there are various media through which agronomic information is shared. Agricultural newspapers disseminate key messages and trends. And agronomists share important production and research-related information with each other at conferences or other places.

But there is a lot we don’t know about how things are done elsewhere. We know Brazil produces a l ot of wheat, corn, soybeans and other crops. We can read reports and news from the area, but nothing compares to reallife anecdotes.

I spend a considerable amount of effort trying to paint a picture of what farming life is like in rural Canada. I believe and hope it humanizes us farmers and helps build a trusting relationship between the public and those of us growing crops for the global food market.

It’s spring in Brazil now, and I’m guessing the year’s second round of seeding has either just happened or is about to.

It’s doubtful I’ll find someone in Brazil who shares my exact childhood memories of harvest, but I am curious about how many points of similarity there will be between farmers in Canada and farmers in Brazil.

What they grow affects our market. It’s important we keep our eyes open.

Our farm’s soybeans are turning colour, staring to ripen. It will be mid-September when we start the combine and begin to harvest.

And, just like when I was a child, it won’t be me driving. That job is reserved for my parents, the landowners. One day, it will fall on me. But until then, I’m happy to drive truck and eat apples.

AGRICULTURE IS CLEARLY A GLOBAL ENTERPRISE.