Seminar will show opportunities for using winter in crop-livestock integration

Better use of land in winter can favor agricultural production in the South Region, with food supply both for cattle foraging and grain harvesting to supply the pig and poultry industry, with relevant impacts on different sectors of the economy of Rio Grande do Sul. The potential use of winter cereals in Rio Grande do Sul will be the basis of discussions at the Crop-Livestock Integration Technical Seminar, on October 6th and 7th, broadcast on Youtube. It is carried out by Embrapa and Senar-RS, with the support of Fecoagro-RS, ABPA and Farsul.

In the 2021 harvest, growth in the area with winter crops in Rio Grande do Sul was above 10% in the main grain crops, such as wheat, oats, triticale, barley, rye and canola. Even so, around 1,5 million hectares were recorded, which represents less than 20% of the area used for summer cultivation in the State.

According to the president of Fundesa-RS (Animal Health Defense and Development Fund of Rio Grande do Sul), Rogério Kerber, the cattle herd is reducing in the State to give more space to soybean monoculture. In 2016, RS recorded 14 million head of cattle; in 2021 the number fell to 10 million heads. In the production of pigs and poultry, the bottleneck is production costs: in 2020, RS disbursed R$3,3 billion to buy corn from outside the State. “We have expertise, but we need to gain competitiveness”, says Kerber.

Projection of scenarios for the project Two Harvests, Farsul's chief economist, Antônio da Luz, estimates that the integrated growth of agriculture and livestock farming could increase the state's GDP revenue by R$12 billion/year. The growth of agriculture, with better use of the area in winter, could also result in the opening of 24 thousand new jobs in the sector.

It is in this context that the Crop-Livestock Integration Technical Seminar was organized. “The seminar aims to present the potential, opportunities and profitability of using winter cereals, as well as discussing the opportunities and obstacles to the use of cereals and forage for beef and dairy cattle, pigs and poultry. In this way, we provide the training of Senar-RS instructors so that they can transmit updated content to rural producers and make our agriculture increasingly stronger”, says the rural professional training coordinator of the Technical Division of Senar, Umberto Pizzolotto de Moraes.

Winter cereals in animal feed

Winter cereals can be used in animal feed through forage (pasture, silage, pre-dried) or grains in the feed composition. “We no longer talk about dual purposes in winter cereals, the traditional pasture and grains, but about multiple purposes in an interaction between crops and different animal husbandry”, says Embrapa Trigo researcher, Renato Fontaneli.

The shortage of corn for the animal protein industry has also increased interest in winter cereals, which can reduce costs in feed formulation, especially related to logistics and greater grain supply in the regional market. “Winter cereals can make up up to 35% of the ration replacing corn, just make adjustments for each species, pigs or birds, according to each category or stage of development”, explains Embrapa Swine and Poultry researcher, Terezinha Marisa Bertol .

The former Minister of Agriculture, Francisco Turra, president of the Advisory Council of the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), recalled that the shortage and the consequent increase in production costs motivated the search for alternatives to meet irreversible market demands. “The historic high in production costs adds to the costs of maintaining supply amid the pandemic, impacting consumer prices. Therefore, this work to search for alternative inputs, such as wheat, oats and triticale, for the animal protein production chain is fundamental and strategic for food production and a unique opportunity to add value and income for producers and for the state’s economy.”

According to Jorge Lemainski, general manager of Embrapa Trigo, a movement is taking place that involves the producer, research, technical assistance, industry, leaders, input suppliers, cereal producers, brokers, cooperatives and many others. “New arrangements are being formed in the winter cereals agro-industrial complex to support the growth and competitiveness of agriculture in the South Region”, concludes Lemainski.