The 2018 Global Farmer Roundtable is scheduled for Oct 16-17 in Des Moines, Iowa – coinciding with the week of the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue and International Symposium.
As the Roundtable approaches GFN is introducing this year’s participants. So let’s reintroduce you to “Gina” Gutierrez, a returning 2016 GFR alumnus who helps operate her family dairy north of the Mexico City area. It also happens that Gina is the recipient of the 2018 Kleckner Award!
Farmer: Georgina “Gina” Gutierrez
Country: Mexico
I’m a 5th generation farmer, working full-time since 2008 with my dad (DVM) and brother (agronomist) on the family farm that was built by my great-grandfather.
Where is your farm located?
Hidalgo State in Central Mexico at 2000 meters over sea level.
What does your farm look like? What is the size of your farm? What do you grow or raise?
As a dairy farm, we milk 420 cows and have 370 calves and heifers, and 120 bull-calves on a feed lot. Our farm is 53 ha total with 40 ha in crops. We have an alternating crop rotation that includes corn, barley and tricticale with corn and rye grass the next year. All of our crops are harvested for silage for our cattle.
What are you looking forward to most as you prepare to participate in the 2018 Global Farmer Roundtable?
I’m looking forward to be there to see how different farmers are managing to continue in business despite all the struggles we are having: irregular climate patterns, trade war and tariffs, consumer demands and mis-information, etc. and whether there are other ways to face all of it.
