The level of productivity gains that have been seen across the main cropping sectors in Brazil has been phenomenal. When I visited the country back in 2006 and again in 2007, you could see that things were starting to change. In the more fertile and better-developed states in the south of the country, mainly Parana and Mato Grosso Do Sul, the cropping boom was starting to take hold.

Land that was traditionally used for extensive grazing was being converted at pace for the production of mainly soya beans and corn. It was a fairly straightforward transition, with lime being the secret ingredient used to convert land that once had the capacity to carry just 0.25LU/ha into highly productive tracks of arable land. The incorporation of up to 15 tonnes of lime per ha applied over a sustained period along with almost ideal year-round growing conditions effectively transformed the deep red high-clay content soils into an open air glasshouse.

The economic incentives for conversion were clear, with returns from cropping dwarfing what could be achieved from beef production.

The result from the cropping boom in the southern states was the steady migration of livestock production systems further into the southern states, particularly on what were then the more recently deforested lands in the state of Mato Grosso. On returning to the state 10 years later, it was clear that the pace of land conversion from pasture into cropping had increased, with much of the traditional pasture ground in Mato Grosso also having undergone conversion and now being used to produce cotton, soya beans, sugar cane, corn and highly productive temporary grazing swards for finishing cattle.

Like we have seen across so many other parts of the world, the suckler cow base is now confined to the least productive ground where land type or terrain makes conversion into cropping unviable.

With a population of just three million people and a land area equivalent to both France and Germany combined, the evolution of the state of Mato Grosso from poor-quality pastures into some of the most productive arable land in the world has catapulted Brazil to the top of the world grain market. Table 1 details Brazil’s world ranking across various agricultural commodities.

Brazil brings a whole new meaning to the three-crop rule

This conversion of low-input permanent pasture into highly productive arable land has taken place alongside the advancement of the latest soil management and plant breeding technologies. Brazil has been fortunate to come slightly late to GM technologies, allowing it to learn from some of the mistakes made in the US, particularly around the need to maintain good crop rotation and rotate GM with non-GM crops to avoid problems with bolter plants.

Central to maintaining soil quality has been the focus on improving soil organic matter. This has led to the widespread adoption of zero-till technologies plus an acceptance of the importance of cover crops to maintain soil structure.

The strategy is certainly yielding dividends. On farms where soil pH has been brought up to optimal levels, farmers are now growing multiple crops per year. While the rotation varies, the focus is on never leaving the ground fallow and always maximising its production capacity. On a number of the farms visited, the soya planting season was just getting into full swing in mid-October – aligned to the start of the rainy season. With the rains having arrived right on cue, soya beans were being planted with the intention of being harvested in late January. While there was a variation across regions, yields typically ranged from 3-3.8t/ha, with the top operators achieving over 4.2t/ha. Output value is the equivalent of €280/t.

Rotation system

Traditionally, corn would be sown into the stubbles immediately after the soya beans were harvested, with a zero-till drill tracking up the field directly behind the combine. On a number of farms, grass seed was also mixed along with the corn seed. When the corn was harvested in July, the grass would either act as a cover crop until the replanting of soya beans in October or in the case of integrated farms would be grazed with beef cattle. With a typical corn yield of 5-7t/ha, the overall output value of this complete rotational system at normalised prices was in the region of €2,000/ha.

This typically would have left the farmer with a profit margin equivalent to €200 to €350/ha. Interestingly, one of the farms visited, growing 270,000ha of soya beans per annum, grass seeds were sown into the soya crop ten days pre-harvest using a helicopter.

These “second crop” grass swards would then be temporarily fenced and grazed for six months with bulls set stocked at 1,000-1,500kg of liveweight per ha in groups of 400.

After the six-month grazing period, the swards would be burnt off and either soya beans or corn replanted.

The Brazilian rotation brings a whole new meaning to Europe’s definition of the three-crop rule.

Sweet success of sugar cane

The surge in soya bean and corn plantings has done nothing to restrict Brazilian farmers’ appetite for sugar. In 1975-’76, Brazil produced 19m tonnes of cane and today the figure is close to 650m tonnes.

Approximately 50% is processed into sugar, with Brazil accounting for around 50% of total sugar exports on to the world market, with the remaining 50% processed into ethanol – largely for the domestic market, where cars run on a blended mix of ethanol and petroleum. Not content with the rapid growth over the past three decades, the ambition is to grow output from the sector by a further 300m tonnes.

Few would bet against this being achieved when we assume sugar cane is nine times more efficient at converting energy from the sun than corn, delivering an energy return ratio of 1:8 compared with 1:1.3 for corn. Also, there is a significant financial incentive to expand the crop with return on capital ranging from 13-15%, eight times higher than being achieved on the best livestock farms.

Ultimately, GM technology could lead to an explosion in the efficiency of the Brazilian sugar cane crop as an energy source. Currently, the crop is not benefiting from the GM technology, mainly due to the complexity of the cane plant which has over 120 chromosomes compared with just 20 in the corn plant.

With advances in this area, it is envisaged that there is the potential to increase sugar yields from the current figure of 11t/ha to 21/t over the next ten years.

Production cycle

A typical sugar cane crop in the southern states of Brazil will last for five to six years, increasing to 10 years in the more northern states, where it is planted into virgin ground. Along with cotton, it is reserved for the most productive soils. The main issue limiting the crop’s lifespan is compaction and subsequent impact on yield. When the crop is planted, first harvest is taken 18 months later, followed by a harvest every 12 months thereafter. The crop will start to regenerate within two weeks of harvest.

Agriculture is key

As shown in Figure 1, the development of the arable sector in Brazil has effectively doubled the output from what it classes as its grain and fibre sector, increasing from 100m tonnes in 2000 to a forecasted 200m tonnes in 2016. It is this growth that underpins agri-business exports, which in 2015 totalled US$88.2bn or 46% of total Brazilian exports and 22% of the country’s GDP. Much like the case in Ireland, Brazil has the dominance of its agricultural sector to thank for underpinning the economy through the global economic crisis. As shown in Figure 2, it was the positive trade balance from agriculture throughout this period that underpinned the country’s economy.

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