River cleaning: Maintenance and adjustments work performed in the river El Dorado are now almost completed (90%). Our aim was to redirect over a 4 km distance the course of the river and to clean the channel (digging more deeply and making it wider) in order to allow the river flow and to avoid water entering in the farm.

We got also permission to build a kind of external protection wall along the river so that in the event of a flood, the farm will not be affected. You can see some pictures below of the soil movements performed. In the highest parts, the protection wall reaches 5 meters in height.

Cattle operation and pastures: We have around 2,400 heads at the farm. Like our farm in Corrientes, dryness which affects the whole region is impacting the animals at various levels (well-being, production, diet, fertility, etc) as well as pastures available. Some heifer calves, weakened by the situation, need already to be supplied with corn and pellets as pastures are not dense enough to address their needs especially in terms of protein).Grassing area has reducing given the lack of water and the flood situation we faced earlier did allow us to sow pasture on cleaned fields (only wild vegetation has grow).

Fire: In the evening of October 15, after a hot (37°C) and windy day, a fire has started in the natural forest reserve on the outside edge of the farm (along the river). Fortunately, the gauchos could detect it on time and stopped it before entering in the productive areas of the farm (ie cattle area). Only some external fences where affected, and we have repaired them by using some wood of the natural forest reserve.

Since the beginning of the year, Fires in Argentina have raged around 7,700 km² (it’s more than a quarter of the entire country of Belgium).