Corn Harvest Opening Takes Place in January 2025

The 12th Official Opening of the Corn Harvest has already been scheduled for January 23, 2025. The announcement was made today during a meeting of the Sector Chamber of the Crops Department of the State Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation of Rio Grande do Sul (Seapi-RS), which was attended by Secretary Clair Kuhn. The official harvest ceremony will take place at 10:30 am at the property of farmer Delciomar Busnello, in the city of Paulo Bento. Kuhn has already confirmed his presence at the event, which will be attended by other authorities. There will also be technical lectures, visits to stands and a celebratory lunch.

The agricultural engineer and coordinator of the Chamber, Paulo Vargas, who is also a rural producer in Carazinho, as well as vice-president of the Rural Union of the municipality, led the meeting. He emphasized the need to expand corn cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul. “We need to expand our production area and productivity, so that the production chain does not need to buy from other states,” he stated.

Another topic discussed during the meeting was the assessment of the 2024/2025 corn harvest. The state technical assistant for crops at Emater/RS, Alencar Rugeri, spoke about the concern with the way the corn leafhopper pest (Dalbulus maidis) acts on a plantation. “Because it is not easy to observe it. But, in 2024, we had less pressure on the weather conditions, which means fewer leafhoppers in the technical assistance and rural extension actions monitored by Emater, together with the State Program for Corn Production and Quality (Pró-Milho/RS),” he said.

According to Rugeri, the actions of Pró-Milho encourage producers to plant the crop. “The entities of the Sector Chamber are also promoters and are essential for us to try to increase the area of ​​corn in Rio Grande do Sul, which currently stands at 750 thousand hectares (for grain). Our dream is to be self-sufficient in corn, with a production of around eight million tons per year. It is a challenge to increase this area, so that we can meet the demand of the state's production chain, for pigs, poultry, beef and dairy cattle, for whom corn is essential.”

In turn, the Chamber's advisor, Valdomiro Haas, presented the program “Overcoming the drought – Subsidy for Irrigation projects and water reserves from Seapi”. According to him, the goal is to increase the state's irrigated area by 100 thousand hectares in four years and expand the water reserve. “To this end, the state is making R$20 million available, which will benefit rural producers (individuals) who implement projects financed by banks or with their own resources”, he explained. “Seapi is accepting projects until April 30, 2025, and the subsidy agreement must be signed by July 31 of the same year”.