Oldemar’s Farm: Challenges/Advantages

Challenges:

A big problem on Oldemar’s farm is a fungus called Coffee Rust. The fungus caused him to lose a lot of his crop this year. It grows in warm and humid weather, which has been amplified in this region by climate change. He has a few plants which are resistant to the Coffee Rust and he hopes to grow more of these plants in the future. The rust causes the plants to die, so new ones must be germinated and planted. It can take 3-5 years for a plant to be mature enough to produce coffee beans. This valuable time is a great loss for a coffee farmer.

Since the bankruptcy of the Santa Luis co-op, many farms have decided to start carrying out the entire production process of coffee on site. This has created a lot of competition in the area, and La Bella Tica decided that they must do something to set themselves apart from the rest and stay afloat. The competition drove them to the decision to go completely organic.

Benefits of Oldemar’s Practices:

• Elevation is very important in coffee growing. The elevation of determines the quality of the land and product. 1200-1300 meters is a perfect elevation, and Oldemar’s farm is very close to that at 1700 meters above sea level.
• As explained by Oldemar, the bigger the coffee beans produced, the more money they can make. Bigger coffee beans are produced in high-quality soil which is quite abundant on his farm.
• There is a bee’s nest in a tree on the farm that has been there for about ten years. This nest is a great bioindicator for the farm. The bees would not be able to survive if the farm was using pesticides or other harmful farming practices. The bees are a benefit to the farm because they pollinate plants.