ISU agriculture students are studying in Brazil to know what they’re up against upon graduation.

Due to its growing economy, Brazil is becoming more and more important agriculturally, said Shelley Taylor, director of the Agricultural study abroad program.

Brazil, like Iowa, has soil with good growing potential and a climate that is conducive to growing many types of crops, Taylor said.

“The students studying there want to know about the soil and the methods from growing that make it so successful,” she said.

Andrew Blair, senior in agricultural business, is currently studying in Brazil.

“My family has been competing with Brazil for grain markets, so we decided to try to join them and make a more diverse operation at the same time,” he said.

Blair said Brazil is second only to the U.S. in world production of corn and soybeans.

Besides being a valuable way to study agriculture, the study abroad experience gives students a broader perspective on international trade.

Russ Mullen, professor of agronomy, said students can exchange ideas and learn new growing techniques by examining Brazil’s methods.

“This exchange opens up opportunities for students when they travel to Brazil,” Mullen said.

Iowa State is currently part of a consortium with three other partners working to exchange students between Brazil and the United States, he said.

Iowa State has partnered with the University of Georgia and works with the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil and the Federal University of Para in Belem, Brazil, Taylor said.

Three ISU agriculture students are currently studying in Recife.

“This experience educates students about the problems countries have buying and selling their goods,” Mullen said.

Studying Brazil helps students understand the difference between the Brazilian and American economies, Mullen said.

“One real value of travel is to understand the types of pressure the economy takes,” he said.

“Students also see how the good fortune of America has put pressure on other places. You eat a banana differently once you’ve walked on a banana field and you know what type of effort it takes to get the banana produced and shipped to the U.S.”

Lorna Michael Butler, chair of the Henry Wallace Sustainable Agriculture Program, said studying abroad provides students with a more realistic picture of what another country is like.

“When learning about other cultures you can hear and see things that you take for granted here,” she said. “The way [someone] farms and thinks of food could be quite different in other places.”

Taylor said there is a shorter summer term for studying in Brazil available for students who may not want to leave home for an extended period of time.