"Tour the world of agriculture with us!"
ABC-BRASIL 2015 FARM PROGRESS TOUR 29 August – 7 September Concept Itinerary # 2 Day 1 • Saturday, 29 August
(-/-/-)*
Depart Brasil
Tonight you will depart Brasil on your connecting flights to St Louis Lambert Field (STL) International Airport Day 2 • Sunday, 30 August
(-/L/D)*
Arrive St Louis, USA
This morning you will arrive in a USA gateway city where you will clear immigration and customs and then transfer to your connecting flight to St Louis. After you arrive in St Louis, you will collect your luggage and board your deluxe motor-coach for the duration of your land program. First, you will enjoy a buffet lunch. After lunch, you will visit Best Buy for electronics shopping. Best Buy is a national chain of stores for the discount sale of computers, cameras and electronics. Then, you will visit Anheuser-Busch InBev Budweiser Brewery:
Anheuser-Busch, a family owned company, was sold to InBev, a BrazilianBelgian company, in 2008. Now known as Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company is the world’s largest brewer. Next you will visit the famous Gateway Arch: Gateway Arch: St. Louis is called the “Gateway To The West” because of its historic role in the westward settlement of the Louisiana Territory purchased from France in 1803. Commemorating this role is the 192-meter (630-foot) high Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
stainless steel Gateway Arch; this majestic arch is the tallest manmade monument in the United States. Visitors may ascend to the top for a spectacular view of the city. After you check-in to your downtown hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner. Your "Welcome Dinner" will be in a popular downtown St. Louis restaurant. Overnight St Louis (1 night) Day 3 • Monday, 31 August
(B/L/D)*
St Louis - Champaign
After breakfast in your hotel, you will visit the Monsanto Chesterfield Village Life Science Center: Monsanto Corporation is engaged in the worldwide manufacture and sale of a widely diversified line of products, including agricultural products. Monsanto’s Agricultural Sector works to transform the way food and fiber are produced throughout the world by integrating foundation technologies with advanced biotechnology. You will tour the Monsanto Life Sciences Research Facility, Chesterfield, Missouri, to see the biotech labs and discuss biotechnology. The Chesterfield Village Research Center is truly a world-class. According to Robb Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto’s chief technology officer. “The research we do at this facility enables us to deliver new and improved technologies; it is the foundation of our business, paving the way for next-generation products that create real benefits on the farm and in our world.” The research center comprises 1.5 million-square-feet and includes approximately 250 laboratories, 122 plant growth chambers and 2 acres of greenhouse. More than 400 Monsanto employees and contractors work on site, most of which are researchers. After lunch, you will drive to Mt Pulaski, Illinois (185 km / 115 miles / 2 hours) In Mt Pulaski, you will visit the farm of a high-technology, high-productivity corn and soybean producer: This Farmer is a fifth-generation farmer; he grows yellow corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa with three part-time helpers on 850 hectares (2,100 acres) of farmland. He plants 50% corn and 50% soybeans. He strip-tills his corn and he Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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no-tills his soybeans. His corn yield is approximately 11.5 metric tons/hectare (185 bushels/acre) and his soybean yield is approximately 3.7 metric tons/hectare (55 bushels/acre). Like all family farmers, he tends to his operation year-round. Now he is preparing the ground for the 2015 corn crop, marketing what remains from the 2014 crop, and analyzing soil samples and other data to make the best possible seed selections. These decisions are vital as farmers face a commodities market that sometimes changes rapidly. Next you will drive to Champaign, Illinois (145 km / 90 miles / 1 hour, 30 minutes) Welcome to Champaign-Urbana! Champaign-Urbana, with a combined population of more than 100,000, is home to the University of Illinois and its 36,000 students. It is a place where the sense of community found in small towns meets outstanding cultural and entertainment opportunities usually associated with major metropolitan areas. The University straddles the town line between these twin cities, with the tiny downtown of Urbana at the northeast corner of the campus and the larger Champaign downtown about a mile to the northwest. Urbana is the older of the two; it was settled in 1822 and became the County Seat in 1833. Champaign incorporated in 1860. The elevation is 225 meters (738 feet). After you check-in to your Champaign hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner. Tonight you will enjoy dinner at a popular Champaign restaurant. Overnight Champaign (1st of 2 nights) Day 4 • Tuesday, 1 September
(B/L/D)*
Champaign
After breakfast in your hotel, you will drive to Decatur, Illinois. (75 km / 45 miles / 1 hour) In Decatur, you will visit the Farm Progress Show: Farm Progress Show is the largest outdoor farm show in the United States. More than 500 exhibitors are expected Lunch will be at the Farm Progress Show food courts After the Farm Progress Show, you will return to Champaign, Illinois (75 km / 45 miles / 1 hour) After you arrive at your hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner.
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Dinner tonight will be at Alexander's Steakhouse where you will have an opportunity to grill your own steak over a charcoal fire. Overnight Champaign (2nd of 2 nights) Day 5 • Wednesday, 2 September (B/L/D)*
Champaign - Bettendorf
After breakfast in your hotel, you will visit the Historic Morrow Research Plots at the University of Illinois The Morrow Plots, started in 1876, are the oldest agronomic research plots in the United States; and, they include the oldest continuous corn research plot in the world. For more than 100 years The Morrow Plots have been used to demonstrate the effects of both sound and unsound soil and crop management. During the life of The Morrow Plots experiments, the introduction of hybrid corn, and the application of commercial fertilizer to replace plant nutrients removed by crops, have increased corn yield by over four-fold. Next you will have a walking tour of the center of the campus, including an opportunity to shop at the University gift store. Next you will drive to Galesburg, Illinois (260 km / 160 miles / 2 hours, 45 minutes) for lunch After lunch you will visit the farm of a high-technology, highproductivity corn and soybean producer: This Farmer farms 3,250 hectares (8,000 acres) with 5 employees; half corn, half soybeans. For his corn, he uses no-till and his yield is 13 metric tons/hectare (210 bushels/acre). For his soybeans, he also uses no-till and his yield is 3.8 metric tons/hectare (58 bushels/acre). He sells all corn to an ethanol plant in which he is an investor. He owns five semi-trucks dedicated to delivering grain to the ethanol plant. He has changed his cropping rotations to more second-year corn to supply the plant, and he has revamped his bins so he can continue to store all of his grain. Next, you will visit the Monsanto Learning Center:
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The Monsanto Learning Center at Monmouth, Illinois, is a 195-hectare (480-acre) research farm that features research labs, classroom training, and research plots. The scientists there do advanced research in corn and soybean production. Some of their research topics include weeds, insects, diseases, tillage, fertility utilization, hybrids and varieties, intensive corn and soybean management systems, plant population, plant spatial arrangement and herbicide application. Visitors will see Monsanto's newest technologies and learn of advanced agronomic tools scheduled to be available in the future. After your visit to Monsanto, you will drive to Bettendorf, Iowa (80 km / 50 miles / 1 hour) Welcome to the Quad Cities! The Quad Cities include the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois, are divided by the Mississippi River. The metropolitan area has a combined population of 400,000. Moline is world famous as the Headquarters of John Deere. Elevation is 172 meters (565 feet). The Mississippi River, which passes through the Quad-Cities of Rock Island and Moline, in the State of Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf, in the State of Iowa, is the greatest river in the United States. Flowing a distance of 3.780 km (2,348 miles), it reaches from northern Minnesota down to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the master drainage system for the central United States. A series of 29 locks and dams between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri, make navigation possible. The Mississippi River System is a critical part of the agricultural transportation system in the United States. Next you will visit John Deere Commons: John Deere Commons is the site where Mr. Deere built his water-powered plow factory almost 150 years ago. It is now the site of the John Deere Pavilion and the John Deere Store. The John Deere Pavilion was created as a celebration of the past, present and future of agribusiness. It has attracted guests from all corners of the globe and is recognized as the world’s most comprehensive agricultural exhibit. You will enjoy the interactive exhibits and the opportunity to see the Copyright Š 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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newest John Deere equipment as well as selected antique two-cylinder and New Generation tractors. A few feet away from the Pavilion is the John Deere Store, a one-of-a-kind specialty retail shop offering a wide variety of merchandise and collectibles bearing the renowned “Leaping Deer” emblem. Whether it is clothing, toys, gift items, or house wares you are looking for, the John Deere Store is sure to have that special something for everyone on your list. After you check-in to your Casino-Hotel on the bank of the famous Mississippi River, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner. Your dinner tonight will be at the hotel buffet restaurant. Overnight Bettendorf, Iowa (1 night) Day 6 • Thursday, 3 September
(B/L/D)*
Bettendorf - Chicago
After breakfast in your hotel, you will drive to Waterloo, Iowa (140 miles / 2 hours, 15 minutes) In Waterloo, you will visit the John Deere Tractor and Cab Assembly Operations (TACO): See John Deere tractors being made from start to finish on this one-of-a-kind tour. John Deere has long been known as the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural tractors. John Deere is the sole tractor manufacturing plant left in the world that retains its founder's name. After lunch, you will drive to Lena, Illinois (145 miles / 2 hours, 30 minutes) In Lena, you will visit an ethanol plant: Adkins Energy LLC is a corn-to-ethanol production facility that processes approximately 16 million bushels of corn each year into more than 45 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol. Adkins Energy LLC is owned by more than 300 farmers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It is one of the few ethanol ventures in the USA that is entirely owned by farmers. Next you will drive to Chicago (210 km / 130 miles / 2 hour, 15 minutes) On the way you will have a shopping opportunity at Cabela's: Cabela's is the world's foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear. Cabela's overwhelmingly popular stores throughout the U.S. are as much wildlife museums and education centers as retail Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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stores, Cabela's showrooms provide a truly unique shopping experience. True destination stores, Cabela's showrooms offer outdoor enthusiasts an educational and entertaining shopping experience.
Welcome to Chicago! With a population of 9.7 million people in the city and its suburbs, Chicago is the third largest in the United States; only New York and Los Angeles are larger. Chicago is world famous for its architecture, its lakefront, its shopping, and its cultural attractions. Elevation is 182 meters (596 feet). After you check-in to your downtown Chicago hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner. Tonight you will enjoy dinner at a popular Chicago restaurant. Overnight Chicago (1st of 3 nights) Day 7 • Friday, 4 September
(B/L/D)*
Chicago
After breakfast in the hotel, you will visit the Chicago Skydeck Chicago Skydeck, located in the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower), is the tallest building in the United States (110 floors and 448 meters high). On a clear day, it offers a magnificent view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. The newest attraction, The Ledge, will allow you to step out four feet from the building in a clear glass box for a view 103 stories down to the street! Visit to the Chicago Board of Trade (if available) The Chicago Board of Trade is the world’s leading commodity future exchange. It lists contracts on wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, precious metals and Treasury bonds and notes, as well as options on futures. You will view trade from the visitor center on the fifth floor looking onto the agricultural trading room. You will also enjoy a short multi-media presentation detailing the history and current day process of The Chicago Board of Trade. After lunch, you will take a Chicago city tour with Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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local guide. Your narrated bus tour of downtown Chicago will include the following sights: • Lake Michigan: Lake Michigan is the largest body of fresh water in the United States. It is an important link in the great waterway system that reaches east to the Atlantic Ocean and south, through the Mississippi River, to the Gulf of Mexico. • The Magnificent Mile: The Magnificent Mile, which includes Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River on the south and Oak Street on the north, is one of the world’s great shopping areas, with representative branches of many national and international specialty and department stores. • The Chicago River: The Chicago River flows west from Lake Michigan through the center of the city. The river originally flowed eastward. In 1900, when sewage from the river began to pollute Lake Michigan and threaten the City’s supply of drinking water, engineers reversed the rivers flow; it is the only river in the world that flows backwards. • Buckingham Fountain: Buckingham Fountain is the world’s largest lighted fountain. • Millennium Park: Millennium Park is an award-winning center for art, music, architecture and landscape design. The result of a unique partnership between the City of Chicago and the philanthropic community, the 24.5-acre park features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers. Among Millennium Park's prominent features that you will see are the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the interactive Crown Fountain; the contemporary Lurie Garden; and the hugely popular Cloud Gate sculpture. Next there will time for shopping on Michigan Avenue's famous "Magnificent Mile" The Magnificent Mile: The Magnificent Mile, which includes Michigan Avenue between the Chicago River on the south and Oak Street on the north, is one of the world’s great shopping areas, with representative branches of many national and international specialty and department stores. Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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After you return to your hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner. Tonight you will enjoy dinner at another popular Chicago restaurant Overnight Chicago (2nd of 3 nights) Day 8 • Saturday, 5 September
(B/L/D)*
Chicago
After breakfast in the hotel, you will drive to Hampshire, Illinois (95 km / 60 miles / 1 hour) In Hampshire, you will visit a farm where they raise pigs and they also raise soybeans and corn: Dumoulin Farms is a corn, soybean and pork production operation. Mrs. Pat Dumoulin and her sons, Mike (wife Kam) and Pat (wife Lisa), grow 100,000 bushels of corn each year and they purchase another 300,000 bushels. It all goes to feeding their pigs, which eat 8,000 bushels of corn each week. They have 12,000 pigs on feed at all times, in five different locations. They also grow 100 acres of soybeans. The soybeans are sent to processors and sent back as soy meal that is mixed into the pigs’ food along with nutrients and minerals. Pat Dumoulin or her husband, Bill, have run for and held the ISA District 2 Director position to represent northeastern Illinois for nearly 24 years. "I encouraged Bill to run for the position originally. After he served for six years, I decided to run. I felt I had something to offer, too. I had been volunteering for several years with a friend doing soy food demonstrations at fairs and events, talking about the benefits of soy," says Pat. District 2 includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. "I feel strongly about giving back to the agricultural community because it has given so much to me," she says. "More farmers should get involved, and put up new ideas and viewpoints. For the future, we need to stir the ISA pot with a good cross-section of young and seasoned farmers." Pat is a former professor of economics and statistics at Elgin Community College. She holds an MBA from Northern Illinois University. She has been involved with such diverse groups as the North Central Soybean Research Program, Soy Nutrition Institute, U.S. Meat Export Federation, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health. She has been active with several other state commodity and livestock-specific groups as well. Next you will drive to Aurora, Illinois (50 km / 30 miles / 45 minutes) In Aurora, you will have a shopping opportunity at an outlet mall: Chicago Premium Outlets is a great collection of more than 120 brand name and designer-label stores, all with merchandise sold at discounted prices. Stores include Calvin Klein, Dockers, Levi's, Nike, Talbot's, and many, Copyright © 2015 AgTours.US, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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many more. After you return to your hotel, you will have leisure time to rest and freshen-up before dinner This evening you will enjoy a special "Farewell Dinner" at Fogo de Châo Churrascaria: At Fogo de Chão, the famous Churrascaria Restaurant, you will be presented with an assortment of Brazilian salad items and side dishes. And then, the waiters will serve you cuts of various meats carved right onto your plate. Overnight Chicago, Illinois (3rd of 3 nights) Day 9 • Sunday, 6 September
(B/L/-)*
Depart
After breakfast in your hotel, you will visit the Shedd Aquarium: The John G. Shedd Aquarium is the largest indoor aquarium in the world. It houses six viewing galleries which display aquatic animals from warm and cold, fresh waters and oceans. The star attraction is the Oceanarium that is home to beluga whales, pacific white-sided dolphins, and sea otters. The Wild Reef is home to blacktop reef sharks, whiptail rays, and dragon moray eels. In all, more than 32,000 aquatic animals live in the Shedd Aquarium. After lunch, you will have time at leisure (depending on your flight departure time) for optional activity including shopping on Michigan Avenue's "Magnificent Mile" and exploring other Chicago attractions. Too soon you must say "Good-Bye" to the USA and transfer to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) for check-in with your airline for your flight home. Depart USA Day 10 • Monday, 7 September
(-/-/-)*
Arrive Brasil
Today you arrive back home with an enlarged understanding of the USA, great memories and lots of stories and photos to share. *Meals included: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
Operational Notes: Please note that no space is now being held for this group. Bookings and appointments for this itinerary will be made after this group is confirmed with AgTours.US, Inc. by payment of deposit. All visits and other tour elements are subject to availability at that time.
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Due to the nature of the technical visits, changes or adjustments to this itinerary may occur before or during the tour. If changes or adjustments become necessary, every effort will be made to maintain or exceed the quality and educational value of this program. Itinerary organized in partnership with:
N.P.Kowalski & Cia Ltda Consultoria em Comunicação, Organização de Eventos, Relações Comerciais e Institucionais, Cooperativismo, Turismo Técnico Emissivo e Receptivo Rua Peregrino Ferrari Junior, 317 – Centro CEP: 84165-050 - Castro Paraná Fone: 55 42. 3232.5670 / celular 55. 42. 9972.1972 www.npkconsultoria.com nadiel.kowalski@npkconsultoria.com www.facebook.com/npkconsultoria skype - kowalskiskype Michael Kirtley AgTours.US, Inc. "Tour the world of agriculture with us!" 2208 Boudreau Circle, Urbana, Illinois 61801-6601 USA Tel: 1. 217-328-0280 • Fax: 1. 217-328-0009 Email: michael@agtours.us
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