Grain market: what comes after the record harvest?

Recently we have seen that some of the main positive facts in Brazilian news are related to agribusiness. While Brazil and the world face the biggest challenge of recent decades, agriculture remains strong and highly productive. Even in the midst of a pandemic, there was no supply crisis and the 2020 harvest is expected to break another record, driven mainly by soybean and corn crops.

The forecast from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is for a consolidated harvest of 245,9 million tons. Growth compared to the previous year will be 1,8%, or 4,4 million tons more. The moment for agriculture is not only good because of the volume produced, but also because of the value of commodities on the international market. According to the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA), Brazilian agribusiness should have gross revenue of R﹩ 478,2 billion in 2020. An increase of 16,2%, compared to 2019.

With the sector capitalized, soybeans pulling up harvest numbers and surpassing their 2018 record, the question that remains is: how to surpass the 2020 mark in the future? The expansion of agricultural areas in the country is a delicate and not urgent topic, as it is possible to more than double agricultural production in the areas already available. The key to this lies in technology.

The advancement of "agtechs" and the massive investments by agricultural machinery manufacturers in precision and connectivity solutions complete this scenario. A good example is the Momentum folding planter, from Valtra. Available in exclusive versions for seeds and also for seeds and fertilizers, the machine was developed in Brazil by the team of engineers at AGCO, owner of the Valtra brand. Something unprecedented in the company's history, until then. The planter impresses with its size and design, but even more with what it delivers to the farmer.

Able to integrate with several digital agronomic solutions controlled by the 20/20 monitor, Momentum has proven to provide 10% more bags of soybeans per hectare. This is thanks to the integration of Precision Planting solutions, vSet and vDrive, into the SmartFrame chassis, exclusive to the machine and capable of accurately copying the most different topography. This allows seeds to be deposited at the correct depth in different soil conditions, resulting in uniform emergence. Furthermore, the set guarantees a singularity above 99% and allows the speed of the operation to be increased without causing a decrease in the quality of the planting.

This way, more area is planted in the same time, improving the use of the planting window. In fact, making better use of time is as fundamental to increasing production as making better use of planting areas. With this in mind, AGCO developers created a system with self-lubricating bushings and seals that provides Momentum with 30% fewer stops during the harvest, compared to machines in the same category. Because it is foldable, Momentum also provides a drastic reduction in transportation time between one farm and another during the harvest.

Finally, if the exchange rate currently favors the farmer's profitability, in the next harvest it is expected that inputs will become more expensive. Momentum’s precision and near-zero waste generate seed savings of up to 15%. In values, there are more than R﹩ 90 thousand in savings for rural producers in the cultivation of grains in areas of up to 600 hectares.

The Momentum planter is a unique product that meets practically all of the farmer's desires when it comes to planting. But it is not the only equipment capable of generating increased productivity and solid data about a crop. The Brazilian market for technology applied to professional agriculture is prepared for the old challenge that intensifies after the record 2020 harvest - doing more with less.

Even the issue of connectivity, still problematic in several regions of the country, has been addressed by initiatives such as the recently created association ConectarAgro, which brings together eight companies in the agribusiness and telecommunications production chain. The positive moment should be celebrated, but also seen as an opportunity to further invest in technology. The future thanks you.