ARGENTINA & PARAGUAY – Happy New Year 2023 (January 2023).
All Campos team is wishing you a happy New Year 2023!
PARAGUAY – Rice production cycle at Salitre Cue farm (November 2022).
When the weather is at its worst… from drought to excess rains in the peak season of sowing! We had no other choice to start sowing in November (03/11/22) as we registered several strong rains in October making it impossible to seed soils. Activities like pre-sowing fertilization, herbicide application, taipas nivelation as well as sowing are impossible under those conditions.
We are now performing the sowing of 400 ha of paddy rice. Given the weather forecasts for the coming months (La Nina), we are not planting more rice this year. Paddy crop is strongly influenced by water supply and water should be kept standing in the field throughout the growth period. Continuous flooding helps ensure sufficient water (elimination of moisture stress and favourable micro-climate to crop production) with greater availability of nutrients such as phosphorus, iron and manganese and control weeds.
Therefore, we have decided with our partner not to sow more than the surface which can be irrigated by our artificial lake during the full cycle.
ARGENTINA – Update on San Bartolo farm activities (October 2022).
Weather/Situation: The climatic conditions related to La Niña are well present with below average rainfall over Argentina, Uruguay and the extreme south of Brazil and abnormal increases in temperatures for the season. In Salta, we are already recording peaks of over 35°C. This trend will continue for the coming months. This situation wills emphasis pasture availability. We cannot replant under those conditions sufficient pastures and we will be force to by supplementation whose prices are strongly rising.
You can see some fences which have been repaired after the fire that we faced last year due to drought and windy conditions. The fences are repaired internally with wood available at the farm in order to reduce costs.
Cattle operation: We have around 2,000 heads at the farm, mostly cows, heifers and calves. Our cattle is relatively in good shape given the lack of grassing area available at the farm. It’s the direct result of 2 years of dryness. Below you can see some heifers. Most of them will start their 1st service end of December.
Our main difficulties at the farm are to manage food and the regrowth of the natural forest/vegetation.
ARGENTINA – Review of Curupi Pora farm activities (October 2022).
Situation/Weather: The farm is in very good shape but the pastures are still less dense as they should be for the period due to lack of water previously recorded. Soil will need time to recover from the intense drought the region faced earlier. Having that it minds, the latest weather forecasts are predicting a new La Niña event for this season. Most models agree that the current season will be marked by a La Niña phenomenon of weak intensity, but it could generate very significant impacts in productive areas due to being the second consecutive La Niña event. So, we should expect another drought season …and we already need more rain.
Cattle: We have over 5,300 heads at the farm, in good body condition as you can see below in the various categories.
You can also see a new cover that we put in place in one of our water tank that we renovated. Water conservation is key for the activity, especially in drought periods
We have currently 600 baby calves from latest service and there mothers which would need more pastures to recover their body condition.
Regarding beef prices, they remain very firm as you can see on the chart (2 years steer prices in USD of 300/390 Kg – source: CEPA).
Argentina’s beef exports have increased year-on-year by around 20% even if the demand from China is lower currently than 1 year ago(ie more focused on poultry and pork).
ARGENTINA – Review of Curupi Pora farm activities (July 2022).
Situation/Weather: The farm is in very good shape and has recovered from the previous drought period. However, pastures are less dense as they should be for the period due to lack of water previously recorded. Soil will need time to recover from the intense drought the region faced earlier.
Cattle: We have around 5,000 heads at the farm, in good body condition as you can see below in the various categories.
The herd was relatively resilient given the high heat recorded previously (mortality rate 0.6%). The most sensitive categories were supplemented, which obliged us to buy back fodder and pellets, whose prices are rising. We proceed to an early weaning so that mothers can recover before winter service. The annual production objective will not be met due to the impact of the drought on the cycle. However, we are registering good sale performance as market prices are at their peak. 480 Calves (male/female) will be sold in the coming weeks.
