Formosa - Eme y Ene Instituto de Reproduccion Animal

by Melissa Weinblatt

My final vocational visit here in Formosa was one of the best! I was able to get to know Carlos and Javier, father and son veterinarians and owners of Eme Y Ene Instituto de Reproduccion Animal.

In true Argentine fashion, I was originally told that we were just going to the campo for a few hours - well, after a tour of the facility, an asado (made especially for me I might add), a few glasses of wine and much discussion regarding industry politics and economics, etc.– I finally made it back to my host family’s house just as Emily was preparing to send a search party – SEVEN HOURS LATER! This is certainly a reflection of the culture as time is just a variable. And, of course, we don’t have cell phones to communicate with one another, so I was truly at the mercy of my vocational hosts.

We, as a team, have slowly learned to adapt to this over time, however I don’t think that this is something that I could ever fully embrace. I can probably count on one hand how many times during this exchange I was actually picked up for an activity within fifteen minutes of the designated time. Many, many times we waited and waited, sometimes thirty, forty or even close to an hour to be retrieved. At home, if I am running behind even ten minutes, I try to call and let the person expecting my arrival know that I am at least on my way, etc. This, however, is not part of the culture here. I am not saying this to be critical, it is just an observation.

Okay - so some interesting vocational information:

A peon, fieldworker or ranch hand, in the Formosa area receives the following monthly benefits according to my sources. Keep in mind that this is variable depending upon the enterprise, just as it is in our country:
• Approximately US$500
• Housing and food (family included)

The following are paid by the employer to the government and then paid to the employee:
• Insurance (an additional US$16 per child per month on top of the base rate)
• US$10 educational credit per child per month (to be used for transportation to school. Families in the campo are often far from any form of public transportation and are therefore subsidized.)

This establishment raises a variety of breeds, but specializes in Bradford and Brangus due to high demand from clients in this area. This was a VERY progressive operation and featured, by far, the NICEST cattle that I have seen in Argentina. It was like going to the State Fair. Almost all of the cattle were clipped and fitted as if they were to be shown the next day.

They work very closely with a number of enterprises in the United States and Canada. It was very easy to find things to talk about and truly felt like a vocational exchange rather than a show and tell. A truly interesting and satisfying culmination of my vocational exchanges here in Argentina.