ERA Tour: A Course For Adventure
U.S. ERA winners Todd and Joleen Kautzman spent nine days in Mexico, expanding their experience with world agriculture and stewardship.
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Todd and Joleen Kautzman pose by a sign painted in the warehouse of Agroquimico de Jacona — 2008 World of Respect winner, Latin America.© 2009 -
The tour's first stop in Zamorra was a Spanish-style cathedral — the third largest cathedral in the Americas.© 2009 -
Tech agronomist Raul Soto of Agro-Jacona, center, explains how perfect strawberries are grown for export.© 2009 -
Luis Arroyo shows how seedlings such as these peppers are started inside Agroquimo de Jacona's warehouses for future use by growers.© 2009 -
Experts carefully sow seeds, one per cell, in every seedling starter tray.© 2009 -
The Tequila Express rolled past acres upon acres of blue agave, which is used to make tequila.© 2009 -
At the Herradura Tequila factory, Todd stopped to check out a pile of cut agave, which will be crushed, drained, and fermented to make tequila.© 2009 -
The warehouse at DUCOR — a distributor and partner with DuPont — was neat, organized, and extraordinarily clean.© 2009
Environmental respect means a lot of things: Recycling your empty pesticide containers. Keeping the chemicals in your warehouse secure. Providing training to ensure employee safety. Posting emergency contact information where it's readily available. Helping out in your community and promoting agriculture and farm safety.
Good stewardship is similar the world over, and is practiced practically everywhere. In February, Todd Kautzman of Mott Grain & Agronomy, along with his wife Joleen, got to experience international stewardship firsthand when they traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico — home of 2008 Latin American region World of Respect winner Agroquimico de Jacona. Mott Grain & Agronomy beat out all state and regional U.S. winners to take home the 2008 National Environmental Respect Award.
The 2009 World of Respect tour took Todd and Joleen, along with Bob Weigelt, their DuPont representative, from Guadalajara to the twin cities of Zamorra and Jacon. After touring Agroquimico de Jacona's strawberry operations, retail facility, and warehouse, the winners were treated to an excellent lunch at Agro-Jacona owner Gildardo Arroyo's private residence with his personal Argentinian chef. A train ride to the town of Tequila educated the North Dakotans on how agave is grown and turned into Mexico's most famous beverage, and a visit to DuPont partner DUCOR provided another look at the clean, organized operations of a Mexican distributor. Several days spent on the sunny beach in the luxorious resort town of Puerto Vallarta was the perfect ending to a great trip!
View several photos from the tour below.
