Chile's rural heritage: this country's diverse agrarian history is agriculturally and economically as rich as the soil.

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A country of splendor and solitude, Chile occupies a long sliver of South America wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the earth's longest mountain range, the Andes. Because of these natural borders, Chileans often joke that their country is really an island. A rich and distinct rural culture has developed on this "island" over the years, a result of its Spanish heritage and New

World ingenuity and labor. Rural Chile is a place of modern farming and ranching and successful connections to international markets. It has taken advantage of its geography to become one of the world's most respected exporters of farm commodities like fruits, vegetables, and high quality wine. It is also the land of cowboys, rodeos, and a myriad of rural arts.

In 1540, a bedraggled group of scarcely 100 Spanish soldiers led by the conquistador, Pedro de Valdivia, negotiated a passage through the driest non-Attic place on Earth, the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile--an unforgiving, sterile environment where the average rainfall is just one millimeter per year. In the name of God and in the face of great adversity, these men pushed south from Peru to extend the reach of the Spanish Empire. After a year of travel, they arrived at a place with fertile soil along the Mopocho River, which runs through the present day capital of Chile, Santiago. When he saw the rich valleys fed by glacial waters, Pedro de Valdivia insisted that his soldiers build a settlement and begin "tilling the land and breeding livestock." The plow had begun to replace the sword.

Spain's past grandeur continues to be celebrated in the Chilean countryside today through the symbol of the horse. It was Spain, after all, that introduced the horse to the Americas, and the Chilean breed is the closest descendent of the first equines brought to the continent. Today, Chilean cowboys are quick to tell you the story of their "noble horses," which are quite striking indeed, defined by their curved, stout neck and forceful body. It is not difficult to imagine a conquistador exploring the New World mounted on these horses. The Chilean cowboy's horse is an extension and proud reflection of his own ancestry. "Like ourselves, our horses must always be trimmed and presentable," explains horse trainer Samuel Vargas of Osorno.

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The Chilean expression for cowboy is huaso, a word that means both a consummate horseman and a man of honor and virtue. To be a huaso, is to be someone. "We are very cultured," explains five-time National Rodeo champion Ruperto Valderrama. "Our jackets, pants, and boots are tailored, and our shirts are always ironed and buttoned to the collar." Refined and formal, the huaso is as respectable as the horse that carries him.

The art of winemaking is another longstanding European tradition that has found a place in rural Chile. When Spanish galleons braved the Atlantic in search of prosperity, they came not only with guns and horses, but also with the continent's first grape vines--Vitis vinifera. This common grape, valued for winemaking, was also critical for medicinal and nutritional purposes. Skin infections and diseases like consumption were often treated with the sap, leaves, and fruit of the grape. In some ways it was a survival--ist's plant. Folklore indicates that the first vines were planted within fifteen years of Chile's conquest and were most likely transplanted from Peruvian vineyards. It was a vine of soldiering endurance and also a sign of piety. Jesuit priests were the ones who cultivated some of the earliest vineyards in order to produce wine for Holy Communion.

Chile's wine country is located in its central region, where the temperate Mediterranean climate means there is no need to fear spring frosts or harvest rains--factors that often disrupt consistent viticulture elsewhere. Nestled between the Andean foothills and the coastal ranges, Chile's wines also benefit from a "rain shadow" effect: warm arid air that is trapped dung the day and then displaced by cool nighttime air. The effect helps maintain high levels of acidity in the developing grapes, contributing to what national wineries claim are greater biological benefits from drinking Chilean wine. (Independent studies do indicate that Chilean wines have more antioxidants.) But the greatest benefit of Chile's geography may be the fact that its ocean and mountain borders have been effective in quarantining its grapes from the harmful effects of the parasitic bug, phylloxera. Infamous for destroying vineyards around the world, phylloxera is still non-existent in Chile.

Chile is the world's fourth largest exporter of wine, and Chileans can truthfully boast that their country produces "some of the best wines in the world." In VinExpo 99, hosted by France, Chilean wines placed an impressive second out of 40 countries. Yet, the road to success had it share of detours. In the seventeenth century, Spain banned imports of Chilean wine, which crippled production. Little recognition was given to Chilean wines throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century; and when there was acknowledgment, it, wasn't positive. In fact,, prior to the 1980s, Chilean wine was considered below average and was consumed only domestically.

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As it turns out, France's Bordeaux region played the biggest role in the changing the history of Chilean wine. Chile's landed gentry began importing French rootstocks and winemaking techniques in the late nineteenth century. Then, at the turn of the twentieth century, a phylloxera outbreak of epidemic proportions laid waste to 2.5 million acres of vineyards across the globe. The isolated "island" of Chile, however, was immune to the bug, and many French winemakers decided to relocate there to share their expertise. With original European vines and expert knowledge, Chile had a recipe for success. Chile's natural climatic and geographical advantages eventually became irresistible for influential winemakers. In the 1980s, foreign investment streamed into Chile, along with the latest advances in winemaking, and Chile went through a rapid wine renaissance. One of the simplest and most profound improvements was replacing beech wood barrels with barrels made of American and French oak. Within ten years, Chilean wines became globally renowned as premium quality, modestly priced wines.

In the 1980s, rural Chile also saw progress in the diversification of its fruit and vegetable production. Now, Chile is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables. The accomplishment is remarkable considering the limitations; only 2.62 percent of the long and narrow country is arable. Like the wineries, agriculture is concentrated in the central, heartland region. The soil, alluvial and volcanic in origin, is dark-colored and nutrient, rich, and despite the arid climate, water for irrigation is plentiful in the form of streams and snow run-off. But, Chile's greatest asset has been its geographical location in the southern hemisphere. With North American and European agriculture dormant between October and February, Chile is able to fill a significant niche by providing produce to northern consumers during these winter months.

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Chileans are industrious. One testament to this is the volume, diversity, and reach of their agricultural exports. Over two million tons of produce (some 75 products ranging from avocados to plums) are exported to 70 different countries every year. In an environment of strict international sanitary and safety standards, Chilean fruits and vegetables are highly regarded for their quality. The dividends have been enormous. In 2006, export sales were over $2 billion, compared to $168 million in 1980.

And of the more than 500 export companies that exist in Chile's fruit industry, 95 percent are small or medium sized. "I grew up modestly," explains co-owner, Pedro Santa Maria, of the AMS Fruit Company, "and we, as a family, worked hard." Now, the family owns and operates a state-of-the-art business with leading-edge cold-storage facilities and a variety of products ranging from wine to fruit.

Production in the Chilean countryside also includes beef. Cattle, like horse and wine, have a colonial past in Chile. By the mid-1500s, cattle were so abundant in and around the capital of Santiago that the government issued a decree requiring owners to separate and brand their animals each spring. Thus began a tradition of corralling cattle each spring for sale, branding, and castrating. Huasos developed a special technique and trained their horses to gallop sideways to move cattle into a rounded enclosure without roping. The branding was also accomplished on horseback in a move where the huasos pinned the cow against the corral fence using the horse's chest. These particularly Chilean horsemanship skills became the foundation for a unique version of the rodeo. In one competition, two huasos working in tandem push a steer along an arena, stopping and pinning the animal against a designated area and then backtracking to the previous location. Points are awarded for stopping precision and team fluidity. Rodeo was named the Chilean national sport in 1962, and it occurs during spring and summer weekends in hundreds of rings throughout the countryside called medialunas, or "half moons." The rodeo brings together age-old traditions and celebration, expressed in food, wine, music, and horsemanship skills.

Chile is in no position to compete with larger cattle producers like neighboring Argentina, which has vast extensions of open grasslands, the pampas. Its landscape is limited in this sense, with only short and narrow valleys available for grazing. So, Chile has decided to adopt the Australian model of beef production, focusing on quality, not quantity. In today's market, meat quality is determined by the amount of marbling (white flecks of fat mixed in the muscle) in the meat. The more marbling, the more flavor and tenderness the beef is said to have. Like Chile, Australia has relatively few cattle. Yet, it has successfully managed to become one of the world's largest beef exporters by capitalizing on a high-quality niche market. "We desperately need to strengthen our quality of beef," explains fourth generation cattle producer, Jaime Vasquez. Chile is hoping to follow Australia's footsteps, creating precise breeding strategies that include a costly investment in "gene discovery and gene expression" technologies.

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Chile has been a net importer of red meat and has never established a grading system for meat quality. Soon, it will need to do so in order to satisfy consumer demand. The challenge is that if Chile hopes to emulate the practices of the trade leaders, it will mean considerable investment. North Americans and Europeans, for example, require cattle to be "feedlot-finished," fattened on corn, rather than grass. "One of our biggest issues is that we don't have feedlots to satisfy potential customers," explains Jaime. "It's an enormous investment." Another challenge is that 80 percent of Chilean cattle are dairy or duel-purpose breeds that prove unsatisfactory for international tastes. Angus and Kobe beef, both known for high concentrations of marbling, could be Chile's gateway to success. Originally from Scotland, the highly adaptable and manageable Angus breed is already found in Chile's countryside. Kobe beef, a product of Japanese breeds that have been kept in strict isolation for over a century, is considered the champion of red meat in tenderness, health, and flavor. Outside of Japan, only a few countries have the coveted bloodlines, but there is a small herd in Chile.

Chile has one of the most open economies in the world, and its future looks promising in spite of the global recession. Currently, it has 54 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with different partners in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. China became a partner in 2006, and talks are currently underway for the signing of an FTA with Russia.

Progress made in the agricultural industry is undeniable. It accounts for a modest five percent of the Gross Domestic Product but employs an astonishing fifteen percent of the country's workforce. The neoliberal free market has prevailed, however, and small-scale farmers are struggling. Like small farms in the United States, Chilean small farms have been unable to compete with large corporations, and many have been bought out. The resulting exodus of Chile's farmers from the farms to the cities is now threatening to bring an end to Chile's unique and rich rural culture. In this context, every economic decision in favor of GDP growth must be balanced with the values inherent in keeping some percentage of the country's population close to the important work and lifestyle of agricultural production. Economist Christian Candia states, "Chile must Find a way to bridge the gap between national interest and the struggling rural poor."

Almost 500 years have passed since Pedro de Valdivia planted his first seeds in Chilean soil. And, the yields continue to grow. Not only does Chile have trading partners around the world, it has invested in what it knows best, its soil. In the heartland it is still possible to appreciate the strength of a country that is rich in rural heritage. Geography and climate have been essential elements, but the hardworking men and women of the Chilean countryside have been the real key to Chile's economic success and cultural beauty. As saddle maker, Angel Gonzalez Caro said, "your work must look like it was born, not created." With such reverence to perfection, the future of rural Chile could be promising, indeed,

Neilan M. Kuntz is founder of Plaid Production, a company that specializes in visual communications and writing.