CESB Challenge registers record productivity in 2026

Producer Lourival Ruthes, from Agrícola Lourival Ruthes, achieved 156,13 sacks per hectare in Major Vieira, Santa Catarina, registering the highest productivity in the history of the National Maximum Soybean Productivity Challenge. This result secured him the title of champion of the Southern Region in the Dryland category and national champion for the 2025/2026 harvest.

The National Maximum Soybean Productivity Challenge is organized by the Brazilian Soybean Strategic Committee (CESB). The new record reinforces the role of soybean health, nutritional management, and the integration of productivity, sustainability, and profitability in high-performance systems.

The champions of the 2025/26 harvest were announced during the National Forum on Maximum Soybean Productivity. The event took place on July 7th and 8th at the Royal Palm Tower in Indaiatuba, São Paulo. The new format integrated the awarding of regional and national champions with a technical program focused on the determining factors of high soybean productivity.

The program brought together specialists, researchers, consultants, and producers. Discussions covered crop establishment, genetics, seed quality, planting efficiency, building high yield potential, soil profile management, nutrition, soybean physiology, stress mitigation, and plant health in high-yield systems.

Daniel Glat, president of CESB, stated that each theme of the Forum focused on practical application and decision-making. According to him, the event addressed crop establishment, planting quality, digital and precision agriculture, soybean health in high-productivity systems, and nutritional management.

Luiz Silva, executive director of CESB, explained that the choice of themes reflected the main factors observed in the most productive areas audited by the Committee. He cited crop establishment with well-positioned genetics, seeds of high vigor and quality, soil profile construction, balanced nutritional management, physiology for stress mitigation, preventive control of diseases, pests and weeds, strategic use of biological products and qualified technical assistance.

The technical program received support from the CESB Technical Committee. This group brings together experts from different areas of Brazilian soybean farming and acts as a permanent advisory body. Sergio Abud coordinates the Committee as vice-president. João Vitor Ganem and Lorena Moura serve as technical coordinators.

Sergio Abud stated that the Forum's new format has broadened CESB's role as a platform for generating and transferring knowledge. According to him, the event seeks to deepen the technical discussion behind the results and transform the accumulated experience in the audited areas into knowledge applicable to the field.

Winning producers

The winners in the categories were...

Lourival Ruthes, from Agrícola Lourival Ruthes, achieved 156,13 sacks per hectare in Major Vieira, Santa Catarina, and was crowned the grand champion of the 2026 edition. The consultant was Daicon Godeski Moreira.

In the Irrigated category, Luis Fernando Benaglia de Oliveira, from Fazenda Lago Bonito, in Mundo Novo, Goiás, won the national stage with 138,97 sacks per hectare. The consultant was Dheividy Fernandes.

In the dryland farming category for the Northeast region, João Antonio Gorgen achieved 143,77 sacks per hectare at Fazenda Barcelona, ​​in Riachão das Neves, Bahia. The consultant was Ednei Antonio Fugalli.

In the Northern region, Pedro Foresto Crispim, from Fazenda Isabela, in Goiatins, Tocantins, won the Dryland category with 136,64 sacks per hectare. The consultant was Luiz Gabriel de Moraes Junior.

In the Southeast region, Edinaldo Pereira Dias, from Agropecuária Três Irmãos, obtained 122,66 sacks per hectare at Fazenda Floresta, in Cambuquira, Minas Gerais. The consultant was Túlio Madureira da Costa Xavier.

In the Midwest, Rodolfo Schlatter achieved 118,68 sacks per hectare at Fazenda Monte Sinai, in Confresa, Mato Grosso. The consultant was Fabiano Müller.

Numbers from this edition

João Vitor Ganem, technical and research coordinator at CESB, stated that the Challenge registered growth in the number of registrations and the volume of audits. In the 2025/2026 harvest, the Challenge recorded 5.300 registrations. In the previous harvest, there were 4.726. The increase reached approximately 12%.

The event brought together soybean farmers from 1.061 municipalities and 18 states. Areas in the rainfed category represented 86% of the total registered. The initiative covered 4,8 million hectares of soybeans, equivalent to 10% of the Brazilian area dedicated to the crop.

The number of audits increased from 812 to 922 areas. The growth reached 13,5%. According to Ganem, the data shows the strengthening of the Challenge in the national scenario and the interest of producers and consultants in the technical validation of productivity results.

Ganem stated that the Southern Region historically concentrates the highest number of registrations. Paraná leads in participation, followed by Rio Grande do Sul. According to him, this scenario reflects the technological level adopted by producers, the pursuit of productive efficiency, and the number of small and medium-sized properties.

The coordinator also highlighted the increased participation of the Central-West and Southeast regions in recent harvests. In the 2025/26 harvest, Mato Grosso reached third place in the number of registrations. São Paulo took second place in the volume of audits triggered.

Throughout the eighteen editions of the Challenge, the audited results have allowed CESB to build a database of information on high-productivity soybean systems in Brazil. The Committee identifies recurring technical patterns among the record-breaking areas and guides the dissemination of practices related to productivity, efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.