Agricultural growth in Brazil

Soybean

production to

increase dramatically

as land is cleared

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Brazilian pork production is expected to increase by 1,000 percent in the next decade, according to a University of Minnesota Extension Agronomist.

Seth L. Naeve, who spent a year in Brazil with another Extension Service member, spoke at a U of M Winter Crop Day program at Turner Hall Monday morning.

"Brazil is really taking off," Naeve said. He spoke about its rapidly expanding market share in soybean and livestock production. His presentation focused on the increasing world of agriculture in the southern and west central grassland areas of Brazil.

Since 1990, soybean production has more than doubled in Brazil. In the United States, soybean production rose 42 percent during the same period.

Brazil is in the process of clearing, burning and putting into production about 200 million acres of land that is now scrub brush, grass and trees.

"It's like Southern Minnesota was 150 years ago," Naeve said. "It will be the biggest change in world agriculture since the Midwestern U.S. was settled a century and a half ago."

On the plus side, land can be bought in Brazil for about $50 per acre. It is cleared and fertilized for $200 per acre. Soils are very deep, the temperature averages 80 degrees F. and growing season rainfall averages 50-80 inches.

Naeve called the land underdeveloped but highly productive with ideal weather.

Before it is cleared, much of the land is used for cattle grazing. After it is cleared and burned, dry-land rice is grown for a year. Most soybeans are single cropped in summer. Rotations include corn after corn, corn after soybeans and desiccated (dried up) soybeans. Brazilian farmers have been known to chemically kill off soybean fields in order to get a corn crop in.

Break-even production cost in Brazil is about $4 per bushel, compared to $6 in the Midwestern U.S. and $10 in the Southern U.S. Much of the difference is due to devalued Brazilian money. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration predicts that Brazilian production will keep American soybean prices below $5.25 at least until 2010.

Naeve reported seeing soybean fields that were 6 miles long.

Large U.S. corporations like Cargill and Bunge are investing lots of money in processing operations in Brazil. Monsanto and other firms are in the seed business there, Naeve said.

More than 200,000 pigs are expected to be added in Brazil in the next five years. The area is attempting to be certified free of foot and mouth disease. Eighty percent of Brazilian pigs wind up in Russia. Smithfield Pork is among the U.S. companies getting involved, according to Naeve. Poultry is another rapidly-growing niche.

Naeve said Brazil could use consulting help from the U.S.

Transportation costs are the primary deterrent to Brazilian soybean expansion. The nearest export ports at 1,300-1,500 miles away and paved roads and railroads are rare.

"Most of the roads are a mess," Naeve said. "I saw long lines of trucks waiting to unload in elevators, even before harvest season. Most of Brazilian storage capacity is on trucks."

While Brazilians are making ethanol for motor vehicle use with sugar cane, he was surprised that they weren't using soybeans to make it, which would increase the size of the Brazilian market.

Farm gate prices are closely tied to the fuel price because Brazil is very dependent on truck transportation. An inadequate credit system, large public and agricultural sector debts and dependence on international markets are other negative aspects.

In order to counteract the growing Brazilian market, Naeve said the U.S. must maintain its lead in applied biotechnology, reduce transportation costs by allowing foreign flagged ships to carry U.S. beans between U.S. ports and improve the Mississippi River infrastructure.

America must produce and export better products and more value-added agricultural products and grow more high-yield (top 20 percent) varieties with higher protein.

University of Minnesota Extension Agronomist and Weed Science Professor Jeffrey Gunsolus talked about managing weed escapes in Roundup Ready corn.

He said much of his research over the past decade indicated that the Roundup Ready trait has more weed control value in soybeans than corn because soybeans can tolerate the presence of early-emerging annual weeds for a longer period of time than corn can.

To prevent weed escapes, he suggested diversifying weed management strategies by adding useful herbicides. He said soil-applied herbicides reduce the risk associated with failing to control early-emerging weeds in a timely manner. They reduce the number of late-emerging weeds going to seed and reduce the need to spray glyphosphate under less-than-desirable conditions like windy days or in areas surrounded by glyphosphate-sensitive crops, Gunsolus said.

He recommended using different herbicide modes of action, using mechanical weed control when need and diversifying crop rotation to break up weed life cycles.

Gunsolus suggested farmers visit the Applied Weed Science web site: http://appliedweeds.coafes.umn.edu/

The Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) west of Lamberton will hold its annual Crops and Soils Day, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12. Sessions include current and pending insect plagues, breeding soybeans for iron chlorosis tolerance, precision fertilizer studies, weed control problems and Minnesota weather insights and trends.