By DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

COATSBURG, Ill. -- When Coatsburg farmer David Niekamp traveled to Brazil, he found more similarities than differences with that country's soybean producers.

"They face environmental issues just like we do here at home. We can find out what they're doing to help folks. We can trade ideas, help one another," said Niekamp, District 8 Director with the Illinois Soybean Association. "Maybe we can work on some issues together."

Looking at ways to work together was the goal of a January study tour that sent ISA leaders, board members including Niekamp and youth ambassadors to meet with APROSOJA, the soybean association in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

"We had a very good meeting with APROSOJA and made good progress toward establishing projects we can collaborate on. While in Brazil, we learned and saw first-hand many of the issues that concern their members," ISA Chairman Ron Moore, a Roseville farmer, said in a news release.

Cotton and soybeans are major crops in Mato Grosso, grown on farms often covering thousands of acres.

"Soybeans are a global commodity, and it's important to work together with farm associations in Brazil, just as we work together with agricultural organizations in Illinois and the United States," Moore said.

Mato Grosso is the only Brazilian state with a soybean checkoff, which put producers there in touch with farmers participating in the Illinois checkoff program.

"They started coming up here to see how our checkoff program works," Niekamp said. "We got to meet them and thought it might be an idea to trade back and forth for three years."

There's one year left in the initial program, which may be extended, and officials of both groups already are looking at launching a young leader exchange.

"We are very interested in encouraging our young leaders to learn about the global scale of soybean production," Moore said.

Other possible joint projects with APROSOJA include sharing information about sustainability and bioenergy and communicating with nonfarm audiences about the benefits of agriculture to the economy, food security and people around the world.

"We keep hearing about soybean production in Brazil, but now that we've been there, I think our board will have a better perspective that will guide us in the future," ISA Vice-Chairman Mike Cunningham said.

Brazilian visitors want to know more about the equipment used on Illinois farms and how new technology like autosteer works for the farmers.

"They're pretty well up on what the U.S. is doing. In some ways, they're kind of ahead of us. They're really worried about the land and take care of it really well. In Mato Grosso, they leave 20 percent of the ground lay and don't get paid for it," Niekamp said.

"We went to an ag university there that takes 10,000 students. The government pays 100 percent for the students. They really promote their agriculture."

The Brazilians also promote local processing options as an alternative to hauling the soybean crop to port.

Mato Grosso, for example, has processing plants for chicken, hogs and soybeans along with a biodiesel plant.

"One thing Brazilians do is use a lot of ethanol and biodiesel. Their cars are about 90 percent flex fuel vehicles and can use 100 percent ethanol. They have a mandated 25 percent (ethanol requirement) in Brazil," Niekamp said.

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379