Instability of inputs requires efficient work from the gate to the inside

With the instability in the input market that agribusiness is experiencing today, it is important that producers understand the situation the sector is going through, especially regarding supply and price, what impact this impacts on their actions and on the next harvest as well. According to fertilizer analyst, Jeferson Souza, from Agrinvest Commodities, speaker on the Soils panel at the XXII Soya Technical Meeting of the Mato Grosso Agricultural Research Support Foundation (Fundação MT), held in Cuiabá/MT, it is essential that the producing class has the discernment of how heavy the fertilizer was in your final bill, that is, in the production cost.

“That’s where there’s an interesting link that we can draw in relation to the soil. In my opinion, the main thing to do today is from the gate inwards”, highlights Souza. In his assessment presented during the event, he signaled that fertilizer prices, for example, should remain high in the coming months, with no signs of a drop. “It could happen, but what we recommend is that the producer works on this situation with the mechanisms he has in place”, indicated the consultant.

But, it's not just here. The price of inputs follows the same pattern in the United States, China and several countries, all of which are currently living close to historic highs, according to the Agrinvest professional, “It's expensive for everyone, that's the point. We can say that we ended up experiencing greater suffering, since we are at a critical moment of purchasing, our window is still open, the USA is no longer, for example. The American producer is already thinking about the next harvest, so he has already bought everything”, explains the analyst.

And then what to do?

Unanimity from the Soils panel during the MT Foundation Technical Meeting, researchers and experts agreed that the condition of the soil is the key that rural producers have in their hands.

The MT Foundation researcher, agronomist and master in Soil Science, Felipe Bertol, who coordinated the discussions on the subject, points out the three pillars that should be considered by farmers when making any decision. The first of these is the characterization of the production system, which includes the agricultural suitability of the soil; what is the sequence of crops in the area and the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the planting sites. The second pillar is fertilization practices, which include the amount of nutrients supplied, which sources and how to apply them. The third point is the productivity history, which tells us what is limiting it, whether there is a strong response to fertilization and whether there is stable productivity.

One of the tools that is available inside the gate is the reduction of fertilization. According to the Law of Diminishing Increments by German professor Eilhard Alfred Mitscherlich, for example, “as a poor soil receives increasing additions of a given nutrient, yield gains are initially higher, but successively decrease with increasing doses applied until reach stability, when adding more fertilizer can reduce productivity or cause toxicity.” Studies by the MT Foundation also demonstrate that this adjustment does not always disadvantage the soil and crop results, but there are criteria to be observed.

Everything has to be done correctly. The first step, according to Bertol, is to have quality technical assistance and base all decisions on the productivity history of the crops involved in the area's production system, monitoring nutrient levels through quality soil analysis, physical aspects of the soil ( texture, density, water infiltration) and good fertilizer distribution.

Savings from other crops

A generic guideline for the decision to reduce fertilization, according to the researcher, is the logic of savings. “If in the last harvest the producer managed fertilizer with the prospect of producing more, but due to weather conditions he produced less, then in this harvest it is possible to take advantage of what was not exported last year. But, you have to evaluate the dynamics of the nutrient to be saved, its role in the plant and the characteristics of the soil, and if there are surpluses, the reduction can be done with ease, as is the case with nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium in soils. of constructed fertility”, explains the researcher.

The agronomist and director at Tec Fertil Agroconsultoria, José Francisco da Cunha, who also participated in the Soils panel, reinforces that the producer needs to adapt all the options available today to his reality in order to alleviate the scenario experienced.

Management is important too

For Agrinvest analyst Souza, the biggest lesson that producers can learn from the last year with the instability of inputs on the market is to be more careful with property management. “You can't just look at the nominal price, recently there was an opportunity when the exchange ratio improved and the price of soybeans increased. Many didn't follow this. They only focused on the nominal price of the raw material, for example”, he details.

Cunha also shares the same opinion, highlighting that although at this point in the harvest the price does not seem to be a major concern, attention should be paid to supplies. “The producer is still receiving a high remuneration, so we understand that he should not try to find the best exchange ratio now, because he is also obtaining a good profitability, which was leveraged by agricultural prices. So we suggest that you leave this aside and focus on supply, especially as time is getting short”, highlights the consultant.

As the months go by, the situation gets worse and the risks increase. “We have to prepare well to allocate what we have available, in the best way possible. If everyone does this, collectively, we can achieve good results for everyone. Now if we only reason individually - I'm going to run to ensure mine - then the scenario will remain complicated or it will get even more complicated”, adds the director of Tec Fertil.

For the Agrinvest specialist, we have a giant technology in Brazil in the sector, being a global reference in productivity and precision agriculture, but the country still fails in commercialization. “All this work ends up going down the drain, you have to work with two hands, from the gate to the inside and outside. It's interesting for the producer to know what's really happening, to combine these two sides. In this case, the problem is external, but if he manages the farm well, with the help of institutions like the MT Foundation, he can have good income and get through this crisis”, concludes the professional.