The fields of Brazil

Mar 25, 2008 12:46 PM

Team FIN farmer Paul Gervais of Tracy, MN, along with other growers from across the United States, traveled to Brazil last year for a firsthand look at how crops, especially soybeans, are grown on the farms there. Here is his report.

In January of 2007, I traveled to Mato Grosso, Brazil’s biggest soybean-producing state, with a group of farmers and businessmen from Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, South Carolina and Indiana. The tour was sponsored by Hefty Seed Company, and Brian and Darren Hefty traveled with us. It wasn’t your typical relaxing trip to a tropical paradise. The day usually began before 7:00 a.m. and didn’t end until after midnight. We toured three farms ranging in size from 10,000 to 65,000 acres, two retail facilities, and an ethanol production plant. We also met with a soybean growers’ association.

The Brazilian government has encouraged agricultural growth in Mato Grosso since the mid 1970s. Soybeans are the region’s biggest crop, but corn, rice, cotton and sugarcane are also major players. Although this region is blessed with almost 100 in. of rainfall annually with the ability to plant two crops a year, one of the challenges the growers face is red clay soil with low fertility and low ph.

Mato Grosso is 10% of Brazil’s land mass but has only 1% of Brazil’s population. State officials expect 10% economic growth rate per year, which is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector. It has a 10-billion-dollar gross domestic product annually; four billion of that total comes from agriculture.

While the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay produce 95% of the world’s soybeans, Brazil is one of the most influential, producing 22% of the world’s soybeans, and Mato Grosso contributes 30% to Brazil’s total production. The number of soybean acres in Mato Grosso has increased from 7,350,000 acres in 2001 to 14,600,000 acres in 2005. Average soybean yields have gone up 23% in 16 years to approximately 50 bu./acre.

Day 1: Campo Verde
Our Brazilian journey began in Cuiaba, population 700,000, which is the capital of Mato Grosso. After leaving Cuiaba, our group drove northeast towards Campo Verde. During our drive, we witnessed first hand how poor the transportation network in Mato Grosso is. The road conditions ranged from good tar roads, which were rare, to poor dirt roads. There are times these roads are impassable during the rainy season. Even farms of 60,000 to 70,000 acres are only accessible by these dirt roads. We came across a Pioneer field day and decided to stop and tour the plot with about 100 Brazilian farmers. It was interesting to see the Pioneer logo on a tent 6,000 miles from home.

Campo Verde is a farm 25 miles from Cuiaba. The owners of Campo Verde are three brothers who are cousins of Blairo Maggi, Mato Grosso’s governor. When we arrived, we were greeted by the farm manager who gave us an overview of the operation. The farm includes more than 300,000 acres spread across four regions in Mato Grosso. The brothers own 150,000 acres and rent the rest. Their equipment fleet includes 47 combines and 42 planters. Twenty-seven of the combines are Case IH 2388s with 30-ft. bean heads, 20 John Deere 1550s, and a combine made in Brazil, with 18-ft. bean heads. They also have more than 3,000,000 bu. of grain storage facilities.

Although the farm we visited was “only” 65,000 crop acres, it employed more than 600 workers with salaries ranging from $300 to $550 a month. Interestingly, the owners established a town just for the workers; they even have their own church.

There is a government-mandated reserve program, which in this region requires the brothers to set aside 20 to 35% of the land they farm. Although this may seem high, in the Amazon region to the north producers must set aside 80% reserve. For these reasons, expansion is slow in northern Mato Grosso.

When we visited in late January, soybeans and cotton were growing. The farm’s main crops are soybeans, cotton and corn. They sometimes use millet as a cover crop, then plant mostly no-till. The gently rolling fields have red clay soil with low fertility and low ph (1.8 to 2.5). Because the fields are susceptible to erosion, most have small terraces. October through February is the summer growing season, and soybeans are the main summer crop. Sixty percent of the soybeans are Roundup Ready. The farm grows and processes seed for Monsanto. Last year it processed 1,175,000 bu.

While we were there, a crop sprayer was taking off from a grass runway next to the main complex. Although soybean yields have improved since the 1980s, from 35 bu. to more than 50 bu./acre, soybean rust is a problem. It is controllable through fungicide applications, but rust can add up to $50/acre to the cost of production. Soybeans are sprayed three to five times a season, and they are not planted May to September to help break the soybean rust cycle.

After a Brazilian barbeque lunch, we toured the cotton-processing facilities. The farm exports 40% of its cotton. Cotton is a major second crop, but they also grow some corn depending on economic conditions. Corn yields average around 80 bu./acre. They also raise fish in a series of ponds covering 30 acres.

My visit to Campo Verde was a firsthand experience of the scope of farming in Brazil. The competition is big.

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