January 24
Yesterday was our last day of class, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped learning! Today we made our way to an agricultural cooperative, Coplacana, and the Case/ New Holland Industrial (CNHI) factory/ dealership.
Our first stop was the corporate office of Coplacana in our “hometown,” Piracicaba.In 1948, Coplacana was established as the first sugarcane cooperative in Brazil. Since then, Coplacana has grown to become the largest sugarcane co-op in the world. The co-op also handles other crops such as corn and soybeans.
Similar to co-ops in the U.S., Coplacana was founded on the 7 cooperative principles. The co-op’s member-owners also have to pay a member fee of R$500 which is about $110 USD. Coplacana currently has 12,000 member-owners in their general assembly, and they also vote to elect a board of directors as well. While the co-op’s corporate office is in Piracicaba, there are 27 branches located in 5 states throughout Brazil. One interesting difference between Coplacana and agricultural co-ops in the U.S. is that for 51 years, the co-op has provided private healthcare for its member owners, as it owns a hospital for members to receive treatment.
After the insightful visit with Coplacana, we ventured to CNHI where we had the chance to tour the factory and also see the final testing processes for sugarcane and coffee harvesters.
Overall, it was very interesting to learn about these two agricultural entities and compare and contrast their values and business practices with those of the U.S. Tomorrow we are on the road again to spend the weekend in São Paulo!
Courtney Heiser