National FFA Star and Proficiency Travel Seminar

Costa Rica – June 10-18, 2015

Make the world a

little kinder.

“The best coffee is the coffee you

like.”

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve

I was lucky enough to be

able to go on this trip with

my high school agriculture

teacher and FFA advisor

Mrs. Hoffmann. Thank you

to the Sleepy Eye FFA

Boosters who helped fund

part of our trip!

Our very first day in Costa Rica, we were able

to visit a coffee plantation. As we went through

a tour with one of the farm workers, he would

quiz us with some questions and then give us the answers to the questions. At one point, he

asked us, “What do you think is the best

coffee?”

Not exactly sure what he was asking, some of

us just looked at each other, and a couple of

people started naming off the types of coffee we

learned about. The worker told us, “The best

coffee is the coffee you like.”

Although he was only making a joke with us, it

was easy to take away a life lesson. There are

so many things we love to do, but others do

not. Some people like to read, others love to

write. Some like to work, and other people

could use a three-day weekend nearly every

weekend. I can think of my own comparison. I

love to run, and I have a lot of friends who

wouldn’t even be caught fast-walking if they

were late to class.

The point is, the best things in life are the

things we like – not what others like. As I

traveled to many different places in Costa Rica,

I realized I love agriculture. More importantly, I realized I love to share what I learn about

agriculture. That’s what this newsletter is all

about – sharing what I learned from such a

great trip.

Welcome to Costa Rica!

The first thing you need

to know is that Costa Rica is beautiful.

No matter where you are, there is always

a mountain in sight, which forms the

base of a beautiful scene. Since it is a

tropical country, many of the provinces

receive rain nearly every day during the

rainy season from May to November.

The rain, though, is humbling. It is

reassuring of growth and almost a certain

part of the Costa Rican culture.

With nearly five million people, the

country appears to be very dense in

population. Especially in the

metropolitan area of San Jose where

nearly one-third of the country lives, the

streets are crowded and narrow with

houses built very closely together. As you

travel into the countryside, the density

thins, but it is still very prevalent.

Agriculture is a very important

component of Costa Rica. With a large

amount of humidity and high

temperatures year-round, it provides an

excellent climate for the growth of many

tropical fruits. Some of the farms we

visited during our time in Costa Rica

included plantations with coffee, bananas

and pineapple, but other important

commodities include papaya, oranges,

mangoes, sugar cane and some other

tropical fruits. We were also able to visit

a dairy and beef operation, both of which

are top commodities in Costa Rica.

Agriculture’s share of gross domestic

product (GDP) is declining, but this

typically happens as a country grows and

becomes more developed. It is still as

important as it ever was, and that was

evident as we learned about their

agriculture industry.

Costa Rica’s

Top Commodities

(ranked by value)

1. Pineapples

2. Bananas

3. Milk

4. Cattle Meat

5. Chicken Meat

6. Coffee

7. Sugar Cane

8. Palm Oil

9. Pig Meat

10. Fresh Fruit

Our group was split into two coach buses for the trip

with tour guides Gustavo and Jenny each taking the

lead on a bus. They gave us an overview of Costa

Rican history as we headed to the La Paz Waterfall

Gardens. We were able to snap a couple of pictures

of some of the waterfalls as we walked through the

rain and cloud forests. We even got to see animals

like hummingbirds, toucans, wildcats and different

types of monkeys held in captivity because they

couldn’t survive in the wild.

After the waterfall gardens, we visited a DOLE

banana farm. We learned that bananas do not grow

on trees, but instead on plants. It takes nine months

for a plant to become full-grown, and then it will be

cut down before a daughter and granddaughter plant

begins to grow around where the original plant stood.

Each banana cluster is covered by plastic and a foam

material is placed in between the layers in order to

form a microclimate and protect the bananas during

the last couple weeks of growth. After it is harvested,

it takes about 18 days for the banana to reach a

United States kitchen table.

Thursday, June 11th

After an orientation the night before, we woke up

for breakfast and flew out of Miami’s international

airport for a three-hour flight. The airport we

arrived into at San Jose was small compared to

most American airports.

We immediately set on our way to visit the Doka

Plantation coffee farm, which included lunch and a

tour explaining the history of the coffee industry, its

importance to the Costa Rican economy and the

entire process of the coffee bean from the farm to a

coffee cup.

In Costa Rica, there are nematodes that can be a

problem with the coffee plants, so they plant

banana plants among the fields because the

nematodes will attack the banana roots instead of

the coffee plant. Most of the coffee plants live up to

30 years, but they produce for only about 20 years

of that time. One interesting thing we found during

this visit was that they referred to coffee beans as

“cherries.” Technically, a coffee bean is a fruit.

After going through a sorting and fermentation

process, the “cherry” ends up a color shown in the

picture above. Coffee only gets its dark color from

being roasted.

After visiting the farm, we returned to the hotel for

a welcome dinner before resting up for the week

ahead!

Friday, June 12th

Every day of this trip was a day of firsts, and this Saturday

was no different. We started out the morning with

whitewater rafting on the Sarapiqui River, which was a first

for me. It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely do it

again! We enjoyed a snack in the middle of the river and

stopped on some rocks to have pineapple and watermelon

cut with machetes by our guides. When we got back to dry

land for good, we had a very “Americanized” meal of tacos!

Compared to my previous international experience in South

Africa, I noticed a lot of the food wasn’t too far out of

anyone’s comfort zone.

Sunday, June 14th

Saturday, June 13th

Our afternoon was spent on the Roswitha Farm pineapple

plantation. We were able to visit the packing plant on site,

and we also were able to learn about the production. The

pineapples were only 1,000 acres on an 18,000-acre farm

that include water buffalo and preserved forestland. It

shipped about 20,000 pineapples each day except for most

Sundays. Typically, 90 percent of the crop is exported as

whole fruit, and 10 percent is sent to fruit juice companies

that pay much less for the fruit. When we visited, only 10

percent was being exported whole because the weather has

not fostered a very good crop. Luckily, these pineapples are

grown year-round. After a field is harvested, it is

burned entirely to the ground and seeded again to

grow another year’s crop. We learned the core in a

pineapple is hard because it loses its water and air

gets through the seal while being transported.

We spent Sunday morning on a Sky Walk Tour. We were

able to walk over several suspension bridges through the

rain and cloud forests. Many of us even got to see a couple

of venomous snakes right on the path!

Next, we headed to the Don Fernando beef cattle operation

for lunch and a tour to learn more about the approximately

750 Brahma cattle. About half of the cattle were in open

pasture, and the other half were housed in barns. The farm

fed the cattle from about 650 pounds to about 1000 pounds

before it headed to market. Depending on if it was housed

in the barns or open pasture, it would take one of the cattle

30 to 90 days to reach its market weight. Some of the feed

included oranges, pineapples, honey, corn, minerals and

salt. The target protein rate for the farm was 13 percent.

One interesting thing about the Don Fernando beef farm

was that they were continuously trying to find ways to be

environmental and efficient at the same time. Even in Costa

Rica, caring for the environment is important in agriculture!

To end the day, we got to enjoy the evening at a hot springs

resort!

This was the last real day of learning in Costa Rica because

we left at 4 a.m. the next morning to come back to the

United States. We spent the morning at Freddo Leche,

which was a dairy farm overlooking the central valley. They

had 600 dairy cattle of which 350 were milked. The farm

was geared more toward the public than agriculturists. It was

comparable to an agricultural literacy initiative you might

find on a farm in the United States (such as Fair Oaks in

Indiana). It was a neat visit because a lot of the practices

were similar. This was a good comparison because most of

the trip we spent observing ways that Costa Rican

agriculture was different than American agriculture. The

Jersey dairy farm was a good reminder of the similarities in

agriculture that exist across different countries.

The farm had 25 employees, which was a large amount for

the size of the dairy, but it also farmed strawberry fields.

They told us they

harvest nearly two

million

strawberries per

day, and the

milking period

was for three

hours each day at

3 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The feed for the

dairy cattle varied

depending on age,

but they also

included orange

skins, tomato skins, a raisin fruit from local trees along with

typical ingredients an American dairy farm might include.

After the dairy farm visit, we went to the hotel for some

downtime and then headed to a restaurant overlooking San

Jose at night. It was a really neat goodbye scene with all of

the beautiful city lights shining around us as we ate.

Monday & Tuesday,

June 15-16

Both Monday and Tuesday were relaxing days for us to

hang out and enjoy Costa Rica’s vacation tourism.

Although I don’t think I could do it for a whole week, it

was nice to hang out and do some fun activities while

getting to know the other FFA members on the trip.

On Monday, we did a lot of riding the bus, but we were

able to go zip lining in the afternoon and hang out at

the hotel in the really nice pool for a couple of hours as

well. We also had a chance to stop at a couple of tourist

shops to buy souvenirs for our friends and family.

The next day was saved for a riverboat cruise to the

island of Tortuga, which was over an hour each way.

Once we got to the island, there was time to hang out in

the sand, go snorkeling to see different kinds of fish and

go on a banana boat, which was similar to tubing on a

lake in Minnesota.

The ocean water was not very tasty if you got it in your

mouth, which seemed to frequently happen to me. I

also had sand in my hair for at least two days after. (I

still feel like I am finding it.)

It was a nice couple of days, but I don’t think I could

ever spend a whole week in Costa Rica doing just that.

It was always nice to be able to look forward to one

agriculture-related component each day.

Wednesday, June 17

Reflection

About a year and a half ago, I was able to travel to South

Africa with the National FFA Organization for the

International Leadership Seminar for State Officers. Both

that experience and this trip combined to help me gain a

better knowledge of global agriculture.

There are many differences and similarities between the

three agriculture industries I have been able to experience,

including the United States. For example, on our very first

visit in Costa Rica to the coffee plantation, the guide told us

that each bean is picked by hand because it is simply the

best way to get the most flavorful and nutritious coffee. I

immediately thought of the slogan “farmers care,” a popular

phrase we hear in the United States. I was again reminded

of this phrase when we visited the beef and dairy farms as

they told us about their determination to reduce their

carbon footprints and give back to the environment.

Whether you are in the United States or in Costa Rica,

farmers care about the products they produce, and they sure

do care about being stewards of the land they are given.

Like most FFA events I am a part of, my favorite part was

the people. I met so many great members from across the

United States and built strong connections with them. My

favorite farm tour was the coffee plantation. The tour guide

was very thorough in explaining the process, and you could

see the passion each of them had for their coffee farm.

I included the “Reach” theme from this year’s state

convention in this newsletter because it was very applicable

to me on the trip. I reached out to new FFA members to

build relationships. I reached within myself to find the

courage to try new adventures such as zip lining and

snorkeling. I reached beyond myself to ask questions from

the tour guides and learn about the practices in Costa Rica.

This trip was absolutely awesome. If you are an FFA

member, I hope you will consider making it one of your

goals to go on this trip by filling out the proficiency award

application and excelling in your Supervised Agricultural

Experience project.

Want to know more about

my trip or international

travels? Contact me at

broiger@gmail.com. I

would be more than willing

to have a conversation

about my experiences in

another country.

Brandon Roiger

1101 1st Avenue South

Sleepy Eye, MN 56085

National FFA Star and Proficiency Travel Seminar

Costa Rica – June 10-18, 2015

Thank you to the James F Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation and

Tulsa Welding School for being generous sponsors of the

agricultural education national proficiency award area.