This story is from the Fool Moon news feed on the right. It's an interesting twist on migrating for labor.

For quite some time, there have been small groups of Americans farming in Brazil. Recently, their numbers have been climbing. Young American farmers and their families are moving to Brazil to farm because it's cheaper than doing it in America. With the lower cost of living in Brazil, land can be had for thousands of dollars less per acre than in America and farm hands work for less, while still earning a wage of the going rate or higher. Americans who could only work a small plot in the US can farm and/or manage the farming of 20,000+ acre operations in Brazil.

Soy and cotton are popular crops on these American farms. That product is then sold in Brazil, the US and around the world.

The Americans interviewed said they are liking the experience. They like having warmer and longer growing seasons. The Americans say there are challenges; such as learning the language and the pace of business. It seems the Brazilian bureaucracy moves even slower than America's.

Some Brazilians complain that Americans are buying up Brazil and raising the cost of land. For the most part though, it appears the Americans are welcome. LEM's mayor, Oziel Oliveira, had this to say when asked if Americans were welcome to farm in Brazil, "Absolutely. They're turning into Brazilians."

A friend of mine, from high school, and grammar school to be exact has been farming in Brazil for over 20 years. He loves it! Their family still maanges large acres of oranges in central Cali, but he moved to Brazil after meeting and marrying his wife (who is Brazilian)!

I would hope they're not farming on land that used to be rain forest!

Oh, heavens no! This land was always farm land. Has been since the dawn of creation.

I don't know exactly but, the impression I get is that most of these farms are existing farms.

If the land used to be rain forest, it's not coming back, so people may as well farm it. But I think the rain forest is being destroyed to put in condos and resorts. Visit Forest Gone, a full service luxury vacation retreat.
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I know that the destroyed rain forest will never come back. I just hope Americans aren't farming on rain forest land they, themselves, have destroyed just because it's cheaper to do so than to farm in the US.

I would not be so sure about the rain forest never coming back...its pretty damn pernicious and has a documented ability to rebound. Of course, we (humanity that is...) are unwilling to surrender land we have taken from the forest and so perhaps in that sense you are right. But...never is a long damn time. One need only look at the rain forest covered ruins of Mezo-American cultures like the Mayans and the Incans to see that the rain forests do indeed come back much sooner than the 12th of Never.

True, provided that the people destroying the forests are dead.

Hint hint.

Well, as you liberals like to point out...I am perfectly willing to kill lots of people.

People are perfectly willing to build things in in appropriate, or even technically illegal places, for profit, and/or for a nice view of a natural setting. Take all those houses still being built on flood plains and natural swamp areas in certain parts of the US for instance.