March 2018
The Network supports the CREA Guayacán group
The CREA Guayacán farming group toured Australia to learn about new agricultural and livestock technologies; Network members organised visits to companies, universities and farms, and helped with translation and logistics.
In March 2018 the CREA Guayacán group visited Australia to see new technologies in agriculture, livestock and other production systems. During their short stay they visited companies, universities and farms, and the Network of Argentine Scientists in Australia worked closely with them, organising visits to farms and producers, a visit to the University of Queensland and technical talks, and helping with translation and logistics.
Led by adviser Luis Roble Terán, the group is made up mainly of farming businesses from the Chaco and Santiago del Estero regions. On Wednesday 14 March they arrived in Toowoomba, Queensland, where Dr Fernanda Dreccer (CSIRO) volunteered to host them and organised a visit to CSIRO's cotton research centre in Narrabri; the group also attended a field day organised by Dr Joe Eyre in Tulloona, Queensland.
On Sunday 18 March, Maite Amado (UQ) and Agustín Blanchard welcomed them in Brisbane and showed them around the city. The next morning the group travelled to Gatton (70 km from Brisbane) to visit Rugby Farm, a family business and one of Australia's largest horticultural companies, where Fernanda once again helped with translation. They then visited a forage legume density trial on the University of Queensland's farm, where Dr Nahuel Pachas (UQ) gave a technical talk.
In the afternoon, the Argentine delegation visited the University of Queensland (St Lucia, Brisbane), where they were received by Professor Robert Henry (Director of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, QAAFI) and Professor Ian Godwin (UQ), who spoke about the importance of agriculture and livestock in Queensland and presented the University's research lines. Dr Daniel Rodríguez (QAAFI) helped translate the meeting into Spanish. Then, to strengthen research ties, agronomist Luis Roble Terán gave a short presentation to UQ and CSIRO students and researchers on the group's farming activities and on the similarities and differences he had observed between production systems and institutions in Argentina and Australia. Dr María Vilas (CSIRO) and Dr Nahuel Pachas helped with the translation.
The CREA Guayacán visit clearly showed the willingness and commitment of Network members to collaborate and build ties with Argentine institutions and organisations. It also opened the door to new collaborations: in May, the CREA San Jaime group and members of CREA's livestock roundtable visited Queensland to attend Beef Australia 2018. During their stay in Brisbane, Dr Nahuel Pachas provided Spanish translation during the group's visit to the Port of Brisbane and their meeting with representatives of Trade and Investment Queensland and the Queensland Department of Agriculture.