Technologies reduce costs in soil preparation and increase production

Producers are often told that before starting planting, it is essential to think about soil preparation, correcting and replacing the necessary nutrients to provide the best conditions for the seeds to germinate and, later on, at harvest, resulting in high productivity. But how can they reduce the costs of the operations necessary for this and what are the tips for being more assertive?

According to Júlio Roberto Souza, commercial consultant at MP Agro Máquinas Agrícolas, a company that develops technological stainless steel solutions for the agricultural market, efficient soil preparation begins with good deep liming. This is because the climate today is one of the determining factors for agricultural production. “Today we have more and more summers, for a good profile a deep cut is used, the deeper the cut in the soil the better this correction will be. Incorporating limestone also in depth is one of the important factors,” he says.

For example, taking into account the soil characteristics of the Midwest, the three main nutrients for plant life Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), as well as other micronutrients need to be in balance. Today there is a great deficiency of sulfur and gypsum in these regions, as the land in these places is very poor in these nutrients. Furthermore, it is common to see farmers applying nitrogen fertilizer on farms. “The producer has worked to balance the soil as much as possible, a not-so-simple task that demands a lot of dedication and work. Today they are looking for other options through organic fertilizers, composts and other ways to establish a life on land, as weathering depends a lot on the micronutrients present there”, highlights the consultant.

According to the expert, another very common limiting factor in properties is P, as it is one of the most expensive products. To increase its percentage in the soil, costs directly increase and this is what has the greatest impact on the producer's final bill.

In the Matopiba region, formed by the states (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia), where the largest grain production in the country is concentrated, the analysis of the area needs to be even more careful. According to Adriano Quarella, owner of the Delta resale, in these regions, including Pará, where the company is located, there is a great variety of soil, with areas with a high incidence of sand, while in others, a high content of clay, which demands even more concern about management.

Economy and productivity

As the ideal correction period is right after harvest, the basic recommendation to face major challenges such as logistics, time and climate is to have planning and reliable equipment in the field.

With production costs increasingly significant, logistics and inputs increasingly expensive, technologies come as an intelligent solution to optimize these expenses and increase efficiency and productivity in the field. The technologies present on the market today help the producer to make an exact correction, starting from an increasingly detailed soil analysis, generating maps with smaller grids for even more precise applications. “And also high-resistance machines with precision agriculture on board to make up this increasingly precise process. In the state of Pará, a lot of limestone soil correction is carried out and technology equipment helps a lot in this process”, says Quarella.

Agriculture 4.0 has been gaining more and more space and support from producers, with solutions that deliver multi-map management software, technologies that use lasers and artificial intelligence for soil analysis, sensors in the field, drones and machines with increasingly more electronics and embarked. According to Adriano, producers in the Pará region have invested in good management using technology, advice and good machinery, achieving results of 5 to 30 more bags per hectare.

Technology equipment

When we think about soil preparation machinery, it is first recommended to focus on the type of crop that will be produced. The distribution of limestone and granules needs to be in accordance with the variety, always seeking precision in both range and operational capacity. “Producers are increasingly looking for machines with precision technology and greater volumetric capacity to save time in a window that gets shorter each year due to weather and climate. Hence the growing demand for larger machines with connectivity. They want to work with a reduced number of employees and with as much precision as possible”, explains Júlio Souza.

Still according to Quarella, it is also essential to take into account aspects such as the structure and durability of the machines, opting for machinery that requires less maintenance; Another factor is technical and after-sales assistance, which must provide training to the operator and also all the necessary support in the shortest possible time for the producer.  

Among the equipment that has this high resistance and technology proposal is the Taurus 12000, from MP Agro, for distributing fertilizers and correctives. The Taurus is 100% made of stainless steel, including the chassis and track structure, one of the great differences of this equipment, factory rear camera and headlights, optional double gate for section shutdown, cutting-edge precision technology, as well as a technical team factory prepared to provide all necessary support to the producer.