American Farmers Try Their Luck in Brazil

A field of soya beans in Brazil.

Video: U.S. Farmers in Brazil

Unlike most of the Americans, the Harkers live out on the farm with their two toddler sons, Henry and Clyde. They have expanded and renovated a cinderblock, clay brick, and stucco house, which is off the electrical grid and lacks phone service. The place feels like the high plains, with a few tropical twists: Scott carries off an orange-and-white coral snake found in the brush near the house. Mandy admits that she was "very skeptical" of moving down. "My mom thought we'd be back in the first month."

They plan to plant beans and corn after the soybeans, which are being reaped from their 2,200 acres this day by six harvesters.

Mandy misses Taco Bell; Scott, the "Prairie Home Companion" radio show—and the camaraderie of "farmers complaining" at a local café. Still, they profess a sturdy sort of optimism. "I like the adventure," he says. "I told people I could go broke in Idaho or go broke in Brazil and have something to talk about."

Another American couple, Aaron and Katy Howell, both 29, arrived just over a year ago from east-central Indiana. He is managing two properties, including the 10,000-plus acre farm known as Fazenda Sao Pedro, where soy and cotton thrive. They live in town, but their main farm is down a dirt road that gets dodgy after big rains. Cellular phone service between town and the farm is sketchy as well in this inland area of Bahia that, until a few years ago, was essentially frontier.

Katy is studying Portuguese, paints and cooks, takes exercise classes, and does some accounting. She now has a good Brazilian friend. The couple talks with other Americans on most days, and getting together for dinner on Friday or Saturday nights is something of a ritual. "We're a tightknit little group," says Katy.

"I could stay here quite a while and be happy," says Aaron in a flat Indiana drawl. Katy is a bit more guarded. She regrets leaving family—and Starbucks. "I would not call this our permanent home," she offers, mentioning a four-year minimum commitment they've made to stay. Still, she says, "Coming down here was the smarter option...I think it will just get better."