Farm Futures is set to host farm tours to four continents, each designed to give you and your spouse the experience of a lifetime. From South Africa to China, and from Brazil to Australia, you'll broaden your perspective on global agriculture while enjoying some of the great sight-seeing wonders of the world.
"I've often said that when you return from a trip of this nature, you never watch the news the same way again," says Max Armstrong, one of the tour hosts and Farm Progress director of broadcasting. "It truly gives you a new and different perspective of the world outside our borders - out there where 96% of the world's population resides."
A farm tour is an excellent opportunity to chat with other farmers and exchange ideas. Those conversations at the airport, over dinner or on a bus rolling through the countryside offer wonderful insights. You'll travel with like-minded farmers, as experienced guides and translators accompany each tour.
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One of the great benefits of international travel for farmers is that you can see firsthand what's happening with crops or livestock.
“As a market analyst I’ve read about Brazil for years, but reading reports and crunching numbers is one thing; Actually being on the ground is quite another," says senior editor Bryce Knorr, who hosted a tour to Brazil earlier this year. “For example, I’d always read about “bags” of soybeans in Brazil. But it wasn’t until I talked to farmers there and saw them negotiating input purchases, paid for with bags of soybeans priced off the Chicago Board of Trade, that I really got how their system works, and why currency fluctuations are so crucial to their profitability.”
Walking the fields of Brazil or talking with trade experts in China, you'll get new ideas for your own business. In Australia or South Africa visit cattle feedlots, stud farms and game preserves to learn firsthand what's happening in our global market.
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These excursions are organized by Trump Tours, an award-winning Ag tour business based out of Arkansas. Itineraries mix a blend of farm visits and agribusinesses with breath-taking scenic stopovers. From a business perspective you'll hear firsthand from local experts on important issues facing each country.
Once you've traveled overseas your view of the world will be changed forever. Don't miss out on this excellent opportunity.
For more information on each tour go to www.agtoursusa.com and check out the Ag Tours Calendar to explore itineraries - and start planning for the trip of a lifetime.
For routine coverage of Brazilian agriculture, check out blogger James Thompson's South American Crop Watch HERE.
Mike Wilson has spent the last 25 years as a writer, photographer and editor for various U.S. agricultural magazines. He grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Ogle County, Ill., and earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural journalism from the University of Illinois in 1981.
He served as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine from 1990 to 2001. He has been executive editor of Farm Futures since 2004.
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