Technical Abstract: Six US scientists visited agricultural research sites and farms in southern Brazil. In Rio Grande do Sul and southern Parana, researchers and farmers believed in terracing, minimum tillage, and winter cover. They credited these conservation techniques with stabilization of soils in hilly to mountainous terrain. They claimed a better quality of life based on reclaimed land, increased yields, clean water, and stable roads. With 1600 mm of rain uniformly spaced throughout the year, winter fallow fields eroded. Erosion was reduced with winter cover crops. Minimum tillage management increased cover crop effectiveness. Terracing, often a berm every 10 to 30 m along the contour, helped by reducing slope length and increasing infiltration. Terraces interfere with normal farming operations since equipment cannot easily traverse them. Farmers either plant them in permanent cover or eliminate them after a few years and rely on cover crops to control erosion. Infiltration rates were 136 mm/hr for forests, 0.2 mm/hr for cropped fields, and 31.3 mm/hr for fields seven years in minimum till. Success in Rio Grande do Sul and southern Parana led farmers in northern Parana to try them. They had similar problems and plentiful rainfall, 1500 mm/year. These conservation techniques did not work because of different crops (more sugar cane and coffee, fewer corn and soybeans) and different soil types. Flocculate dispersion might be a problem in northern Parana but more study is needed.