Day 4--Trip to Tandil

Today our group had the opportunity to take a day-trip to Tandil, a city of approximately 140,000 and approximately 100 km Northwest of Balcarce. While here, we had the opportunity to visit Martinez & Sandeck, who manufactures equipment for the Silobags we learned about earlier in the week, in addition to animal feed mixers. We also visited with Dan and Sue Frank- a couple who left West Texas in a drought to continue cattle ranching. 

Because of Tandil's larger population, more opportunity exists for factories and a larger labor force is present. Martinez and Sandeck is located in an industrial park of the city, which houses 120 factories. Another industrial area of the city has the capacity to host more than 300 factories. This industrial area model has proven efficient as far as energy distribution, and concentrates the industrial scene to one location and mitigates distaste and complaints from community members. The Martinez and Sandeck factory builds most parts of their equipment in house by utilizing tools like a robotic welder. They are able to produce one piece of equipment per day. These pieces range from 4 different sizes of Silobaggers, 2 sizes of mixers, and a Zero Energy Silobagger. The Zero Energy bagger requires no external power from an engine or tractor to fill the bag, unlike other baggers. Instead, the Zero Energy is propelled forward by the force the grain exerts while the bag is being filled. Two people are required to operate the Zero Energy. The brakes can be adjusted to regulate how much internal pressure from the grain is required to move the bagger forward--ensuring that the bag is filled properly and does not exceed the maximum allowable stretch. 

We also had the opportunity to speak to representatives of the company about the use of Silobag technology in the United States. While it is not widely used now, we could see the potential for its usefulness in regions of the United States that don't experience harsh weather conditions, and that produce a greater variety of crops. It could also be used as a means of temporary storage in instances of crop surplus in the Midwest. We had the chance to discuss the market of Silobaggers in the United States and how they might be better suited for other regions as there is an established system for crop storage. Since we were able to give some input to the company, we feel that they may have a better grasp on where would be the best location to market their product in the United States.

At Dan and Sue Frank's Ranch, Jehová Jireh, we were greeted on horseback by some real Texans. The couple left West Texas in 2000 during a severe drought. They wanted to continue cattle ranching and their previous visits to Argentina inspired them to continue doing so here. They sold their Texas ranch and immediately moved to Argentina to find some land to ranch cattle. The Frank's son also lives on the ranch and has his own herd. They raise Horned Hereford cattle--Argentina's less popular brother of Polled Herefords. The Frank's see the horned cattle as having significant advantages over other Herefords in the region. They are easily identifiable, some diseases present in the polled breed are not present in the horned breed, and the cows are able to fight off wild dogs or pumas to protect herself and her calf. 

Their ranching operation is calf to finish. The cows graze on pasture year round and don't receive any supplemental feed. They are able to maintain a stocking rate of 1 cow/calf pair per 1 to 1.25 acre. All of their cattle are fattened on the ranch, where they are fed a mix of corn, barely, and protein supplement. They don't fatten their replacement heifers and crossbred heifers. The crossbred heifers result from a Jersey bull being bred to a Hereford heifer to avoid dystocia on her first calving. 

The entire operation is a closed system, meaning that new cattle are never brought in. In fact, if a bull gets out and into contact with neighbor cows, he immediately leaves the ranch. Potential for diseases like Hoof and Mouth or Screw Worms drive the Frank's decision to operate with strict bio-security practices like this. Their concerns have caused them not to bring in a single outside cow to the ranch since 2001. They inbreed all of their cattle, which allows them to select for ideal traits and promotes their bio-security practices. For breeding, they divide the herd of 750 cows into three groups. The heifer calves will always remain with the group they are born into, while the bulls will rotate from group to group. For example, bulls from group 1 go to 2, 2 goes to 3, and 3 goes to 1. After 3 breeding seasons, the bulls leave the farm. There is a market for young bulls like this, and the Franks have found successful results in this breeding method. 

Tomorrow we are off to Mar del Plata, and then to Buenos Aires for the weekend!

Adios from Balcarce,
Sara and Ryan