Paraguay – Rice irrigation period at Salitre Cue farm (January 2019).
Rice cultivation performed at Salitre Cue is a step-by-step production until harvest and post-production activities took place. From the moment land is being prepared until harvest is taking place 9 months elapse.
The fields are currently in the peak period of irrigation which takes around 90 days and 1,500 hectares are under irrigation as you can see.
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.
You can see the quality of the taipas build thanks to Real Time Kinematic (RTK) technology using GPS guidance (dig irrigation channels build around the edges of the field with the tractors on autopilot).
You can have a complete overlook of the adjusted irrigation system, fully operational. Water is being pumped directly from the river Tebicuary from our main pump station and being redistributed in the irrigation system. In case of low level of the river, our artificial lake of 480 hectares size full of water.
ARGENTINA – The AG sector is funding new opportunities (December 2018).
Following the G-20 summit held in Buenos Aires, Presidents Macri and Xi Jinping announced during a state visit more than 30 agriculture and investment deals. The deals include an agreement to export Argentine cherries to China and an expansion of a currency swap.
China is among Argentina’s top export markets, especially for agricultural commodities that are the engine of its economy. It is also one of Argentina’s biggest lenders, financing about $18.2 billion in infrastructure and other projects.
At the same time, Argentina is on the verge of signing a deal with the United States that would allow two-way trade of fresh beef for the first time in nearly two decades.
The agreement would simultaneously open beef imports to both countries. The deal would also open a new market for the U.S. cattle sector, although demand for U.S. beef is low in Argentina.
Argentina will have a 20,000 tons limit on its exports to the United States while there will be no limit on U.S. beef going to Argentina. Argentina is seeking to boost beef sales abroad and the agreement would allow Argentina to show other prospective buyers that its meat is healthy enough to enter a country with some of the world’s toughest sanitary protocols.
Argentina fell off the top 10 list of beef exporters during 8 years thanks to the anti-farm policies of the previous Kirchner administration. The country is back in the top 10, according to USDA data and could get into the top 5 next year thanks to the free-market policies of President Macri and a sharp weakening of the local peso currency this year.
The United States produced 11.9 million tons of beef last year and exported 1.3 million tons, according to USDA data. Argentina produced 2.8 million tons of beef and veal in 2017, exceeding its domestic consumption by 293,000 tons in 2017.
For now, those deals took place at the state levels but it supports a business friendly environment and attractiveness for investors. Meanwhile a strong agriculture recovery will help to end recession.
ARGENTINA – Update on Curupi Pora farm activities (November 2018)
Situation/weather: As of end of October, cumulative rainfall for the cycle was 232 mm or -31% compared with the historical average for the same period. October was a very dry month as we registered only 1/3 of the average rainfall with 59 mm of water. As a result, grasslands are starting to suffer from lack of rain reducing pasture available to feed the herd, knowing that we are already recovering from the intense drought we faced earlier this year.
Cattle operation (5,534 heads): We will soon begin with the insemination process of the heifers. Between spring and autumn, we should have over 2,400 heifers in service. Then, Young female calves are retained to increase and replace mothers’ herd.
Silage and pasture program: Given the dry soil condition and the lack of good sowing contractors available (a lot of service providers stopped their activities in the region, which is not core for crops, given costs inflation they face and related economic outlooks), we decided not to sow some subtropical pastures planned (Avena and Bracchiria) and rather focus on corn. 155 ha of corn are going to be sowed by year-end for self-consumption. Depending on soil conditions, Ray grass pastures are also going to be sowed during the 1st part of 2019 (high protein content to feed cattle and it supports high loads of animals per hectare).
PARAGUAY – Update on Salitre Cue farm activities (October 2018).
While we are in the sowing peak, continuous rains keep slowing down rice planting progress. After having faced some water shortage (low river level due to lack of rainfall in southern Brazil) and dry soils from the summer period, all crop farmers have to deal with the opposite situation now. In September, we registered 185 mm of rain (+44% compared with the historical average of the month) and already 226 mm as of October 18.
For rice sowing, the problem is not so much the amount of rain but its frequency. In September, we had rain every 3 to 4 days and the trend is the same so far for October where heavy rains are providing in a short period of time (from 2 hours to 1 day) a very large amount of water (100 mm or more).
After heavy rainfalls, we need 48 hours to drain the plots
Rice sowing requires dry soils so after each rain, we have to wait until the land dried and allows sowing. This induced very slow advances in sowing. However, we are still in the optimal sowing period until end of November and knowing that in optimal conditions, we have a daily sowing capacity of 80 ha.
Our situation is not unique and according to preliminary estimates of the Paraguayan grains and oilseed traders association (Capeco), the heavy rainfalls registered should reduce at least by 25% wheat harvest and soybean seeding could not started yet given the high soil humidity.
For the 1st plots already sowed, herbicides and nitrogen were already applied (nitrogen is the most important nutrient for rice productivity as it encourages the vegetative growth of paddy). You can see emerging the seeds and taking benefit from the natural irrigation supplied by rainwater.
PARAGUAY – Review visit of Salitre Cue farm activities (October 2018).
Following the closing of our latest harvest and as mentioned previously, we took advantage of this time to perform some adjustments and maintenance in the irrigation system as rice is a culture of precision. The aim of those adjustments are to optimize water flow while reducing as much as possible water losses and electricity consumption required to pump and distribute water in the fields. You can find below some sample of the work which has been performed. In parallel, we moved forward with all pre-sowing requirements (land preparation, seeds, levelling of the taipas, purchase and import of high quality seeds, etc).
Resize of the irrigation pool at the water re-pumping station where we added also in back-up a 2nd pump coming from the main pump station
Irrigation channel #5 which has been upgraded
New electricity lines and power transformer installed at water re-pumping station
Progressive water filling of the artificial lake (468 ha size) dedicated to store water in case of low level of the river
Cleaning of the water channel access from the river to the main pump station
On September 10, we began with the sowing period. Our objective for the cycle is to sow around 1,600 ha and so far, only around 400 ha have been sowed due to repeated rain events. Rice sowing requires dry soils so after each rain, we have to wait until the land dried and allows sowing.
Furthermore, we choose not to extend significantly our planted surface this cycle given the fact that Brazil plans to reduce its imports by protecting its internal market. Brazil reactivates domestic support programs:
Over the years, Brazil has used various domestic support programs when corn, wheat, and rice commodity prices are low, and for the first time since 2011, they have authorized the use of two programs for rice: Premium for Product Outflow (PEP) and Equalization Premium Paid to the Producer (PEPRO)
The purpose of these programs is to move commodities from high producing areas to any of the ten grain-deficient states in the north of Brazil. The program is not prohibited from fuelling exports, however when used this way, it is a World Trade Organization (WTO) violation and Brazilian rice enjoys a clear and unfair advantage.
The programs are similar in nature in that the Brazilian government guarantees a minimum price to producers by paying the difference between the prevailing market price and the government-established minimum guaranteed price, either to the commercial buyer (PEP) or directly to the producer (PEPRO).
As most of our paddy rice production is ultimately sold to Brazil, we decided not to increase significantly the sown are (≥ 2,000 ha) and maintain our so called “base planted area” of around 1,600 ha.
For now on, the 1st plots sowed have already seed emerged as you can see. Arial application of herbicide and fertilizer have also been performed, and irrigation of those plots is imminent.
Otherwise, weather forecasts are not expected to improve during the 1st 2 weeks of October and rains may continue to slow sowing progress of the raining surface.
Fields after several rainfalls occurred during last week of September
This current weather situation is in line with the prediction expressed by the World Meteorogical Organization (WMO) regarding the development of El Niño phenomenon for our region by the fourth quarter of the year. For your reference, El Nino is a global weather phenomenon which has a strong impact on wind and on water and we hope that the phenomenon will not have the same intensity then in 2016.
On the positive side, the regular rains registered have allowed the water levels rose in the river to their standard levels and contributes naturally to fill the reservoir. However, current efforts of the operating team are focused on the sowing.
