Ground truthing with Britaldo and Frank.

So, I mentioned in the previous post that we had an excellent last week of work here in Belo Horizonte—first, in me getting caught up on all of the things I have committed to working on with the signing of a contract with Woods Hole for the next year and a half, and then, in trying to model the rents of the cattle industry in the Brazilian Amazon. What I didn’t mention was that when Britaldo heard Frank was coming down, he immediately started planning a jaunt to his fazenda. Fortunately, Frank, Britaldo and I all seem to have the same idea of fun, which translates to “getting outside”. So, all week, we laughed about the ground-truthing we were going to do for our model by spending a weekend at Britaldo’s fazenda. I was psyched.

Frank and Britaldo sent a taxi for me at 8:30 on Saturday morning. I was feeling sort of spoiled, to be picked up by a taxi just to go meet them at Britaldo’s house, but it was a good thing they sent a taxi. Because, not only is Britaldo’s house 30 min. outside of B.H., it is also down 6 or 8 windy roads inside a complex of condominiums and there would have been absolutely no way for me to get there, even if I had been willing to take multiple busses. So, I was happy to be in the hands of Sergio, the taxi driver instead of wandering the hills of the suburbs of B.H., like a lost (black?) sheep.

Britaldo showed me around his house, and I met his darling 1.5 yr old daughter, Mariana, his son, Pedro Gabriel, and wife Nise (short for Denise). We all loaded into two vehicles. Along with, of course, the Brazilian staples: swimsuits, meat, beer, wine, and fruits and veggies.

After about 30 min., we turned onto dirt roads. We had to turn on the AC so as to not soil Britaldo’s car with clouds of dust. Frank navigated the somewhat treacherous little bridge crossings with ease, and before long we were there. A quick tour of the property included pool, rose garden, beautiful shrine to the virgin, pond, stable, barn (dairy), and the house and guesthouse. Lots of tiles, fruit trees, sunflowers for the birds, and the smells of the countryside. Hills and the sounds of running water.

We hit up some freshly-made cheese and some cachaça, aged 8 years in oak barrels on the farm. You know it is good when it is smooth enough to sip enjoyably, and it would be a sin to mix it. Lunch. Nap. The day only got better. Frank and Britaldo and I set out on our first ground-truthing expedition: a hike. First, we took some delightful pictures on the farm.

I told Frank we needed to jump in, for the full experience...


Frank and Britaldo had their picture taken with some grass, the choice food of cows. I don’t think it is Brachiaria brizantha, the grass that is getting seeded in our model at 15-20 kg of seed/ha, however. Frank measured the capacity of the feeding trough...quite scientifically.

Britaldo and I got in the waterfall on the way up the hill. Frank preferred to watch us holler as we jumped in the spring-fed water. We appointed him the picture taker.



We hiked up to a beautiful hill and Britaldo told us the histories of some of the properties, pointed out a mining site, and the only state forest in Minas Gerais (don’t worry, there are lots of other National Parks and forests, but this is the only “Flota”).

On the way down, we visited with the neighbor, and with his bull. I think Frank is telling us that there is only one bull in this picture. Either that, or he is having an Einstein-like moment as related to our cattle model. For your interest, we are assuming either a 1:20 or a 1:25 bull to cow ratio in our self-reproducing biological herd element of our model.

The neighbor left me wondering whether we weren’t barking up a very tall tree….”It’s all about the feeling of having your own land, of having a farm…” he said, “you can’t measure that in money.” “Maybe we’d better add a Utility model in there for our farm owner….” I said to Frank and Britaldo, as we were headed back to Britaldo’s land. Riiiiight.

Saturday night was great conversation, wine, and homemade pizza. We went to bed early, and I promised Britaldo I would get everybody up by seven. No need; everybody was up and rarin’ to go—we had breakfast and headed to the stable before 8. With some amusing pictures en route.


Frank and I had to ditch the hats, which were stylish, though too small to be comfortable. Britaldo had prepped me for my horse, which was the “mais manso” (the tamest, i.e. slowest). We swung into the saddle and took more pictures. This was to be a well-documented journey.

No more than 15 minutes into the ride, I was using my crop and digging my heels into my horse and still dragging behind. (Not mean enough?) Britaldo asked whether I wanted to switch with the horse caretaker who was along and so we did, both men telling me: “Now, hang on with your legs! Are you sure you want to do this?” The only person I felt bad for was the poor guy I switched with, who was much more apt with a crop than I. 10 minutes later when Britaldo caught up with me, he said “Ele anda bem com você…você sabe andar” (He does well with you..you know how to ride!). No need for me to belabor the point that women can ride horses, too.

We went up hills and down hills and through farms and along dirt roads, and into the only state forest in Minas Gerais for a short hike to a waterfall. We chatted with the park personnel, and took pictures.

There were many opportunities for races and flat-out runs…Frank led the last couple of miles into the homestretch at breakneck speed and even Cometa had trouble keeping up. We all wore big grins on our faces when we got off those horses. Two days later, I am still not walking quite straight.

We jumped in the pool and were then treated to an incredible Churrasco (cook out, BBQ) of chicken hearts, sausage, chicken and steak. Mmmmm. A last nap in a hammock and we packed up the cars and sat soaking up the stillness for a while longer before heading back into the city. I still couldn’t wipe the grin off my face, and Frank mentioned at least three times that we were going to convince Britaldo to take us on a three day ride the next time he came back down.

In summary: it is delightful when the people that you work with also enjoy having fun, and when you can all relax and do it together. It creates camaraderie and a sense of comfort that I might not otherwise feel. And when they generously share their fazendas and their families with me, I just smile and feel blessed. And thank them profusely.