NEW! Alaska Grand Tour

Experience Alaska by train, boat, light aircraft, and luxury motorcoach! This vacation is packed with the best of Alaska! From the vast interior of Alaska to the sparkling waters of the inside passage.  Each day will be full of scenery!

With host Dieter Härle.  Tour by R&J Tours, Willmar, MN.
Click here for more information.

Quad Cities Farm Tours

HELLO! You want to learn more about critical agricultural, environmental and conservation issues? OF COURSE YOU DO! They not only affect the richness and quality of our own lives, but those of our children and grandchildren, too.

So satisfy your thirst for knowledge on a customized Quad Cities Farm Tour. It’s fun and an experience of a lifetime!  The right guide makes a tour succeed. Meet Dieter Härle.

Born and raised in one of Germany’s most fertile farming regions, Dieter grew up with a deep respect for the soil—and those who work it for a living.

After mastering the “hands-on” basics of practical farming, Dieter enrolled at agricultural school. The Agricultural Production degree he earned there set him on the path to even more intensive ag-science studies in the United States.

His advanced work/study pro-gram at the University of Wisconsin/Madison campus earned him a degree in Animal Sciences.

In 25 years, Härle has built an enviable reputation among feed formulators and animal nutritionists. He also consults on various other agricultural disciplines.

As an animal nutritionist and farm business-management con-sultant for Best Options, Inc., he offers diverse “feed-and-seed” solutions worldwide—and has added a new twist: German trans-lation and farm-tour services.

The Tours

Agriculture is in a state of flux.

For 50 years, the number of working farms worldwide has diminished, while the size of the remaining farms has mushroomed.

The “traditional farm,” run by one family, is no more. Farms are now run by groups of families. The immense units these family groups farm—and their yields—have multiplied incredibly over past norms.  This is speeding up the already rapid specialization taking place on farms: A process that’s changing the face of 21st century agriculture.

America’s Midwest is a farming “showcase” because of its rich soil and prime conditions for growing cash crops like corn and soybeans.  Long known as the “bread basket” of the United States, the Midwest is the focal point of our nation’s agricultural production.

Eastern Iowa and western Illinois share the fertile Quad Cities area (see map below), made up of the communities of Bettendorf, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Moline, Illinois (where the John Deere Company is headquartered).

Dieter Härle is primed to guide your Quad Cities Farm Tour.  He can customize a tour for any group, from armchair tourists to active farmers, eager to see agri-cultural science at its cutting edge.

Highlights of the QC Farm Tour:

Typical Midwestern, family-operated farms to include:

• Beef operation with annual production near 10,000 head;
• Corn and soybean farms on the highest-producing Iowa farmland. Tillage practice, from plowing

John Deere-style to the latest in minimum tillage and direct seeding;

• Pork production: traditional field farrowing and modern-market hog operations; and
• Dairy farm milk production.

Farm-supply industries like:

• Manufacturing, packing, chemical; and packaging plants.

Any other specific locations that fit your particular interests.

Härle rides with your group and leads discussions on a number of significant agricultural topics:

• Successes and struggles faced by family-run farm operations.
• Production costs and how they affect farm management.
• Organic farming versus standard production.
• Genetic developments in plant and animal production.
• Conservation and the environment: Ho-hum issue—or legitimate concern?
• Any other topics you’d like.
• Please tell us of your interest at least a week before your scheduled tour-departure date.

Dieter describes each stop during your custom tour, citing its historical and social significance, and establishing its place in the annals of agriculture.

Tour cost is based on length, location, and size of group. Please note: We’ll coordinate transporta-tion to and from your existing tour or go with your group’s suggestion.

We provide information and tours in English and German, and in other languages upon request.