84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 25,2003
Ranch’s Ag Perspective Broadens After Working On Farm
In Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya, Portugal, Poland, Moldavia
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
PARADISE (Lancaster Co.)
Aaron Ranck recently returned
to his family's Lancaster County
dairy farm. After traveling the
world, and working in agricul
ture in several different countries,
his viewpoint is much broader
than Lancaster County agricul
ture.
Lancaster Fanning in the
Aug. 3, 2002 issue reported that
Ranck was one of 60 outstanding
college graduates nationwide to
receive a prestigious $22,000
Watson Fellowship to finance a
project of his choice.
“I drew on my ag roots and
wanted to expand my ag hori
zons,” Ranck, 23, said of Ms deci
sion to work on farms in Brazil,
Tanzania, Kenya, Portugal, Po
land, and Moldavia.
Back home on Ms parents’
Don and Ginny Ranch’s dairy
farm, Ranck recently joined the
farm’s bed and breakfast guests
for a meal. The breakfast in
cluded whole wheat, wMte, and
zuchinni breads, veal sausage,
eggs, peach cobbler with peach
yogurt, and apple crisp. The tra
ditional breakfast brought back
memories of more unusual fare
that he had recently eaten. Zebra
and whale were some of the more
exotic tastes he remembers.
He traveled independently and
was responsible for mapping out
his own transportation and time
schedule. He slept eight hours on
buses some nights and learned to
navigate his way around coun
tries by reading maps.
In Brazil, Ranck worked on a
1,700-acre dairy farm where he
helped milk 200 Holsteins.
“Brazil is a well-developed ag-
Aaron grew up with lots of exposure to other cultures
through mingling with guests at his parents’ Verdant View
Farm Bed and Breakfast, Paradise. His parents, Don and
Ginny, are on the right.
riculture coutitry. This year, they
will bypass our country in soy
bean production,” Ranck said.
Although the land where he
worked looked similar to Lancas
ter County, the social inequality
of the area was evident. The
urban poor and the rural poor
contrasted sharply to the small
percentage of the very rich.
After viewing various govern
ments and economies, and how it
impacts the people, Ranck said,
“There is no other way than capi
talism.”
He said, “In Brazil, the price of
milk is about half of ours, but
farmers’ feed and labor costs are
also half as much as ours (the
U.S.) Land is much cheaper, but
machinery costs are much high
er,” Ranck said. The farm own
ers are alarmed by the rising land
costs.
“Inflation and recession can be
good for farmers,” Ranck said.
Farmers who buy inputs in the
beginning may see inflation rise,
which causes labor costs to go
down, and results in selling high
at the end of the year.
Working on a Northeast Brazil
plantation, Ranck saw sugarcane
as far as his eyes could see.
People in the rural areas were
curious and friendly, happy to
talk and learn about American
ways from Ranck.
He ability to communicate in
Portuguese and Arabic or He
brew benefited him in his travels.
His plans had been to spend at
least two months in Jordan, but
the Iraqi War changed that. In
stead, he substituted Poland and
Moldavia.
Ranck said his experiences
broke down stereotypes. “I abso
lutely loved every place 1 was. It
was neat to see communities and
how people lived.”
As a visitor, Ranck said that
his focus was not to judge. For
example, his Tanzanian host had
two wives. Although that is ac
ceptable in that country, the com
munity also had their own crite
ria of what is considered
respectable.
Men were expected to be able
to support all their children. The
villagers often talked about a
“foolish rich man” in the com
munity who had 100 cows, 100
goats, and 100 sheep. He also had
several sons who partied and
drank. The sons would steal a
cow from their dad to pay for
their partying, but their dad did
not do anything to stop the
crime. Hence his neighbors con
sidered him foolish.
Villagers in Africa were wor
ried about potential famine after
a bad growing year. Ranck ob
served that the government is
disconnected and has little im
pact on rural communities.
The weekly market was the
soul of the community. Ranck
lived in an area that was so re
mote it had no electricity, tele
phone, or mail service, so he pur
chased a bike to ride 17 miles to
mail a letter to his mother.
Tanzania is a socialist country,
where individuals cannot own
land. Wealth is measured by how
many
cows you
have.
There is
not
enough
money to
even
think of
using in-
secti-
cid e s ,
and no
commer
cial agri
culture.
Ranck
would
like to,
forge a
career in
a foreign service
such as serving
as a diplomat to
another coun
try. While
working on his
parents’ farm,
Ranck is apply
ing for govern
ment intern
ships in
Washington
D.C. and to
graduate
schools to study
international re
lations.
Ranck would
like to Represent
foreign policy
not only in agri
culture but
work his way up
to ambassador
ship or to a
higher level,
which requires
about 20 years
of rising
through the
ranks. Ambas
sadors generally
have no choice
in the country they are sent,
Ranck said. He would prefer the
Middle East. He is interested in
the conflicts and how the United
States interacts with these coun
tries.
After spending a year working on farms in Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya,
Portugal, Poland, and Moldavia, Ranck takes a break on the family’s
dairy farm to talk about his experiences.
Despite the increasing turmoil
in the Middle East, Ranch thinks
peace is possible.
Ranck was in Portugal when
the War in Iraq started.
“It was shocking watching the
war coverage. I was in Portugal,
having a wonderful experience,
and people my age were dying
every day.”
Of the Iraqi War, Ranck said,
“It was .an enormous undertak
ing, and I hope it turns out for
the better of all involved. It’s too
early to be pessimistic and throw
in the towel.”
Ranck reads about 10 books
monthly on agriculture policy in
Western Europe.
“Without understanding the
past, we can’t understand today
or the future. The future is not
something we passively accept, it
is something we should create,”
Ranck said.
Of Poland, Ukraine, and Mod
avia, Ranck said each faces
unique and challenging situa
tions. These countries faced ex
tremes in shifting from a socialist
to capitalist economy, and
can teach us a valuable les
son: how constant change
is, which we don’t notice if
we aren’t paying attention.
We are either following or
left behind ”
In Lancaster County,
Ranck said that his par
ents have income from
their bed and breakfast op
eration, so they don’t need
to have as large a dairy op-
eration as many other countians
do. The Rancks milk 30 cows on
their fourth generation 118-acre
farm. They also own an adjacent
house used for bed-and-breakfast
guests. The Rancks follow rota
tional grazing practices using
seven paddocks on 10 acres.
“Lancaster County has good
soil, a good location, and can
continue to be competitive, but
the constant challenge is to never
sit back and be satisfied, but con
tinue to compete to produce a
better product at a lower price.”
“I love it here (the farm), but
will leave it behind. I want to
help build an international com
munity,” he said.
“It’s somewhat difficult to
leave the farm, but I’ve spent my
time preparing a career in inter
national interests, not in manage
ment and business skills needed
to farm here.”
While working in other coun
tries, Ranck did not teach, but
observed for independent re
search.
The Watson Fellowship was
established in 1968 by the chil
dren of IBM founder Thomas J.
Watson Sr. and his wife Jean
nette to honor their parent’s
longstanding interest in educa
tion and world affairs. The pro
gram identifies prospective lead
ers and allows them to develop
their independence and become
world citizens.
Many of the former recipients
went on to become diplomats,
doctors, researchers, professors,
college presidents, and chief exec
utive officers for major corpora
tions.
Although Ranch’s future isn’t
clearly- mapped out, he said, “I
have the advantage of growing
up on a farm and knowing how it
works. I understand how cooper
atives differ from corporations.
My dad is on the zoning board
and has been active in commu
nity affairs and politics to help
shape community opinion.”
Ranck considers his farm
background a great asset, regard
less of his career path. He said,
“Living on a farm also taught me
the need to be flexible and to
multi-task.”
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