Brazil fertile with promise for U.S. farmers

"This showed that if you developed a new technology, you can significantly expand production on land that previously you didn't think was potentially productive," said Thompson. "That changed world agriculture."

To fully appreciate the road Brazil has taken, it helps to drive from the capital city of Brasilia into the heart of its new farm belt. It's a six-hour ride, and a reminder that much of the country is still fighting its way out of poverty.

The two-lane road is spotted with miles of scrubland, dilapidated villages and the occasional 18-wheeler. Then, at Mile 337, the appearance of familiar John Deere tractor green makes it look a lot like the American Midwest.

Now, in Bahia, there's a boom going on. The explosion of farming in this region has transformed the once tiny town of Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, known as Lem, into a thriving agricultural center. It's now home to American giants like John Deere, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.

The growth potential is what has driven a new generation of American farmers to move thousands of miles from the U.S. heartland instead of continuing to farm the land worked by their families for generations.

"I looked at that; we were making a decent living," said Bruch. "One day I picked up a magazine and read about the place we're at in Bahia. And I told my dad, I said, 'You know what? I want to go. We've just got to go see if this thing is legit or not.'"

A hemisphere away in Iowa, Don Bruch saw promise in his son's move. A farmer since the 1970s, Don and his family pooled their money so they could bring Bruchside farms to Brazil.

"Yeah, it's kind of risky," he said "But land there is a lot cheaper than it is here, too. I think it was like $400 an acre. And here, it would be at least maybe $4,000 or more. So I guess it's a risk that we thought we could try."

Today, fueled by demand from China and other countries, prices for commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans have never been higher. That's been a boon to the Bruch family's bottom line, both in Brazil and in Iowa.

"The price of corn is good, better than in all the years that we've farmed here," said Don Bruch. "I've never sold corn for the price it is today. Corn has taken a lot of acres away from soybeans, which has raised the price of soybeans."

On the other side of the equator, soybeans are his son's main crop.

"Four years ago when I started here, soybeans were almost at historical lows, and it was pretty tough going," said Tyler Bruch. "But now, they've doubled in price."

Though he still thinks of himself as a farmer, the growth in the Bruch farm in Brazil has transformed the work he does and the way he looks at the job.

"Most anybody can go out and raise a decent crop," said Tyler Bruch. "It's the business side of it — I think that's what will set companies apart, farmers apart. I don't see tractors too often. It's sitting in the office, being behind the business."

His success in Brazil has generated great interest back home in the U.S. At the 2008 Commodities Classic, the annual meeting for corn, wheat and soybean growers, Bruch was the hottest commodity. His 7 a.m. seminar on farming in Brazil brought crowds.

"We're growing; we're putting up about another 20,000 acres for next year," he told the audience. "Today, with costs as high as they are, we have to be better marketers now than we had to be three years ago."

His story and experience drew the attention of growers twice his age, especially when he described a return on investment of more than 25 percent a year.

While some farmers see the explosion in Brazil as an opportunity, others believe it's a threat to their very existence. One of those is Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union. He fears Brazil's rise as a farming superpower may soon come at the expense of the U.S. growers he represents.

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