Bolivian Farmfest

“¿Alyson, quieres ir al campo mañana en la mañana? Conozco que estas interesada en el campo.” “Alyson, do you want to go to the country/field tomorrow morning? I know that you are interested in seeing it.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into, but because my host Dad here works with agriculture and farmers, I figured he was right, it would be something I was interested in and would want to see. 

John Deere in Bolivia! Who would have guessed?

So we drove about a half hour, out of the city, past all the factories that make Santa Cruz the industrial center of Bolivia, until the only things left to look at were palm trees and short shrubs. When we got to the second toll booth, we did a u-turn and pulled into a field that had been converted into a parking lot. Suddenly it clicked, we weren’t going to look at fields, we were going to the Bolivian Farmfest!

Farmfest holds a special place in the heart of my family. My Dad tries to go almost every year and many times my siblings and I have gone with him. Afterwards, we always bring home a bag full of free pencils and a huge bag of fresh kettle corn.

Bolivain Farmfest was a bit different. Instead of giving away pencils, there was meat. Huge slabs of steak, and whole pigs being roasted over coals at almost every booth. And who can eat meat without a cold drink to go with it. There was beer, soda and chocolate soy milk in bags, all being given away.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of things I recognized. Booths with vendors, some brands I knew like Dekalb, John Deere, and International, and many South American brands. There were tests plots with corn and soybeans and other test plots with sunflowers, and sorghum. 

Men stood around, talking smart, comparing notes about planting and harvest in a manner I knew all too well. Vendors talked about their products, what was new and what made it better. And pretty girls (wearing less than they ever would have in the States) handed out pamphlets and brochures.

 I don´t think we stayed as long as my host Dad would have liked, but I think he enjoyed showing me around and introducing me as his daughter and then not explaining himself. I wish you could have seen the confused expressions we got as they compaired my skin to my host parents´.

An AgCo SprayCoop - Which I was so excited to see.  I don´t think my family believed me when I told them I´ve driven one.