The Beans of Brazil 

Chairs for the day: Doug Deininger and Ron Fluegel, observing corn harvest operations on the Schneider Logemann Farm in Brazil
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On Day 13, we visited the Schneider Logemann Company (SLC) Farm located south of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. SLC owns the John Deere (JD) franchise for South America. Our host for the day was Jorge Logemann. He and his staff briefed us on their manufacturing and farming operations. John Deere recently expanded their modern manufacturing plant in Southern Brazil. At Horizontina, they manufacture small tractors (under 150 hp) and combines for sale in Argentina and Brazil.
Some facts from and about SLC Farms:
SLC also owns 7 farms scattered across Brazil.
The farms total 88,700 hectares or 210,000 acres.
Of the 88,700 hectares, 37,500 hectares are in production and 24,000 hectares are yet to be developed (1 hectare = 2.471 acres)
SLC Farms has 300 employees, 58 combines, 94 tractors, 64 planters, and 53 vehicles.
SLC raises 7,000 cows and has grain storage for 107,000 metric tons.
Their farms are devoted 2/3 to soybeans with the balance in corn and cotton.
The average annual rainfall in Brazil is 50 to 80 inches.
Soybean production costs are $175 per acre and corn production costs are $254 per acre.Soybean yields are 50 bushels per acre and corn yields are 120 bushels per acre.  
SLC often grows two crops in the same year, raising winter crops of wheat and sorghum.

SLC Farms Agronomist visits with Stephanie Dickson
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The IALP Class of 98 as guests of Schneider Logemann.
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 Planned future irrigation will allow SLC to raise more corn during the winter months when they receive very little rainfall.
  Over the past few years, Brazil has had a serious hyper-inflation problem. Today their inflation rate is a modest 4.4 percent but interest rates remain high at 26.1percent. The government subsidizes farm operating loans at rates near 8 percent. Brazil is the world’s largest producer of oranges, coffee and sugar cane, and it is second in the world in soybeans and cocoa beans.
There is a huge expansion now underway in the Cerrados region of Brazil. This is the largest undeveloped area for farming in the world, with 200 million hectares of which well over 100 million (250 millions acres) are suitable for crops.  By comparison, current developed crop land in the United States totals 350 million acres.  Brazil’s topography is flat to gently rolling.  Most of the land in Brazil is no-tilled. Farms are large, with the amounts ranging from 5 to 20,000 hectares in size. Virgin land is cheap in the Cerrados, currently selling for $100 to $200 per acre.  Two bulldozers and a ship chain can clear 100 acres in a day at a cost of $100 per acre.
  Fertility levels are very low in the soils, and large amounts of fertilizer are required to grow a crop. The soil has a low pH of 4.4 and requires limestone to correct. Typical fertilizer costs for a first year crop could be $150 per acre.
 

IALF President Joyce Watson, brings the IALP Class of 98 International Seminar to a close with the traditional dip in the pool.
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The government now requires 20 percent of the land developed in the Cerrados to be left as a reserve. Fifty percent of the land in the Amazon region is required to be left in reserve.
  To encourage more rapid development of the Cerrados, the government recently began taxing undeveloped land, without a plan for development, at levels 15 times the normal real estate tax. This is being done to encourage speculators to either develop or sell their farms to local farmers. Twenty-five percent of Brazils population now earns less than $1 per day. Therefore there is political pressure within Brazil to give these people a chance to homestead.
  Other concerns regarding Brazil are its three-year trade deficit, an unstable currency, and a lack of interior roads and electricity. Waterways for shipping are being developed but often conflict with environmentalists concerned about the draining of Brazil’s huge areas of wetlands.
  Even with these problems, our group was humbled by the potential that exists in Brazil. We all realized that US producers will face serious competition in the years to come.

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