Home Background Brazil Argentina Biofuels Fibre Itinerary Tour Package Investors' Tour

On our twelve day journey we will visit São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ribeirão Preto, Mato Grosso do Sul and Buenos Aires. We will visit farming regions, beef production, ethanol and biodiesel facilities. Along the way, we will meet and network with key representatives of the food, fibre and fuel industries. What's In It For You? This tour will give you a 'front row' view of the challenges and opportunities in this new frontier of food, fibre and fuel, and it will connect you to the people you need to meet. You will: Meet top industry officials representing the beef, crop and fuel industries. Learn how the ethanol industry in Brazil was built, current plans for expansion, and where the industry is going in the future. More importantly - how you can be a part of it. Tour state-of-the-art meat packaging and food processing facilities that understand adding value, and have their eye on world markets. Attend presentations on research and development capabilities of this region of the world and where they are placing their priorities when it comes to food and agricultural research and development. Be presented with opportunities to consider when it comes to industry and research collaboration and investment opportunities in Brazil and Argentina. Meet global food company executives and food marketers and hear why they are investing and building facilities in this part of the world. Come home with an in-depth understanding and a big picture view of this region of the world and some key contacts and friendships that will last a lifetime. Tour Highlights See the world's largest biofuels programs. Tour sugarcane fields and a sugar mill at the heart of ethanol production and value-added opportunities. At the University of Sao Paulo, Professor Marcos Fava Neves, Coordinator of the Agribusiness Program and the Agri-Energy Research Group, will tell us about agriculture production, food processing, exports and growth of biofuels and wood fibre production. Visit a eucalyptus farm and processing facility. Eucalyptus is cultivated to supply the paper and cellulose industry, and to produce vegetable charcoal used by the iron and steel sector, among others. Visit one of the world's largest privately-owned reproduction and genetic improvement companies. Alta Genetics, based in Calgary with operations in the US, the Netherlands and Brazil, captures semen from top cattle breeds. Visit an integrated farming and waste management system. Anaerobic digesters turn animal waste into value-added products - to power local communities, reduce greenhouse gases, clean up neighboring water systems, and create bio-based fertilizers. At one of Carrefour's hypermarket stores, you will see how food is packaged, marketed and retailed to Brazilian consumers by one of the world's top food retailers with 444 retail operations and 48,000 employees in Brazil. Meet with representatives of the dairy industry in Brazil and Argentina. Brazil is the world's sixth largest dairy producer. Nestlé and New Zealand's Fonterra, the world's largest exporter of dairy products, have announced plans to participate in Brazil's rapid growth in this sector. Meet with Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Ministry of Agriculture. Visit production sites for the major crops produced in Argentina and Brazil - corn, soy, wheat, cotton and coffee - including El Tejar (Argentina) an integrated agri-business. The company produces more than 180,000 tonnes of grain annually and handles 216,000 head of cattle, but they are active at all points of the value-chain. Tour a soybean handling and crushing facility in Argentina, which is integrated with an 800,000 hen laying facility that produces 500,000 eggs a day. Tour meat-packaging facilities in Brazil. Meet with officials from JBS-Friboi, the largest beef processor in Latin America and purchasers of the Swift US meatpacking business. Visit the Liniers Cattle Market, the world's largest cattle market. Some 10,000 to 13,000 head of cattle are sold here four days a week. Visit farms, both large and medium-sized, in Brazil and Argentina. Walk the fields, see the equipment and talk with farm families. Meet with the Association of Exporting Producers of Argentina, which lobbies government, advocates in the media and promotes Argentine meat in America, Europe and Southeast Asia. Hear a presentation by the Uruguay beef industry, which is looming large in the global beef business. With 100% traceability through a mandatory national animal ID system, Uruguay is linking its beef supply chain with a series of quality-production standards and operating procedures. Participate in a round-table discussion with Hernán Palau, Head of the Program of Agronegocios and Alimentos, and Marcos Daziano, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires. They will present on the state of the agricultural economy in Argentina. Please note that some of the meetings and tours are currently being arranged, and may vary from the final itinerary.