During my study abroad trip in Uruguay, my favorite learning experience took place on the family ranch, Angus Los Tilos. This family ranch was a great teacher on the external challenges that came with a changing natural environment and confronting them with spearheading solutions. The introduction of the farm quickly grasped my attention as we drove over two hours of miles of magnificent landscapes through their ranch. My attention was held as we started the visit with a learning activity to collect sparse grass from one of their plots of land. The idea was that we students would behave like cows looking for green grass to eat by dividing into small groups to see who would gather the most from what was available. Throughout the lot there were dead grass bushes that resembled deer grass but less green and drier caused by the current drought. The activity taught us that it was overall hard for a cow to eat around the dead grass to access the live green inside when grazing in the field. By understanding this challenge, the owners began to introduce to us the journey of finding a solution to address the limited supply of green grass for the cattle to graze on. Over the course of various years, the male owner of the ranch researched techniques, methods, and technology to create the respective solution for their farm’s problem by reading through various resources and visiting countless conferences abroad to learn from others. After much work, he crafted a unique tractor to remove the dead matter of each bush to allow the live grass to spur out from within for the cows to better graze on it. This tractor is the first of its kind, with a chain of spiraling teeth on either side of the tractor that collects the dead grass as it rolls over numerous bushels at a time. The ending effect leaves large amounts of dry grass wrapped in the teeth of the chain, much like hair in a hairbrush, while the remaining bush has accessible grass for the cow to consume. His journey to discover the appropriate design for their specific challenge was highly compensated once their production started to reap the benefits of their invented solution. The farm’s resilience to look for the solutions to their unique problems regardless of the uncertainties and obstacles is a motivational reminder that the toughest challenges are faced with confidence that they will be resolved.
