Use of tractors in livestock farming

From planting pastures to animal care, the tractor is an equipment present in the main tasks of the activity

The total cattle herd in Brazil is 222 million heads. In beef cattle farming, which totals 192 million heads, Mato Grosso holds around 14,5% of the herd, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul, with 11% and Goiás, with 10%. Dairy cattle represent around 30 million heads of this total, and Minas Gerais is the main state with 27,3%, followed by Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná with 11%. In 2020, the sector's Gross Production Value, VBP, was R$290,8 billion and Brazilian beef exports (fresh and processed) reached a record of 2,016 million tons in 2020, earning US$8,4 billion in this period. The activity involves around 700 thousand producers.

All these numbers give a dimension of the importance of the sector within Brazilian agribusiness. There are several models of livestock exploitation, but recently the emergence of the crop-livestock integration technique, the increase in areas for soybean and commercial corn crops and the intensification of dairy production are proposing changes in the way this activity is carried out and bringing the need for produce more food for the herd. In this sense, the use of a tractor as a tool becomes essential for livestock farming.

From preparing the soil to planting crops, producing corn or sugar cane silage, and directly handling animals in the trough, the tractor has become an essential piece of equipment for daily tasks in this high-performance production system. Livestock production technology has been undergoing drastic and rapid changes in recent years, on the one hand due to the need to seek greater feed conversion efficiency and on the other due to pressure from the grain market that has been occupying areas previously available for livestock, for production. of soybeans and corn.

It was in this new scenario that LS Tractor arrived on the Brazilian market, bringing new features to the tractor, whose main objective is to facilitate the execution of new daily tasks that have been incorporated into the livestock production system. “Among these features, the LS tractor is available as standard in its PLUS line models, the 12x12 transmission, with reverse and super-speed reducer (creeper) was a great help when I wanted to cut some canes for give it to the cattle”, said Minas Gerais milk producer, Manoel Luiz Pinhão, from Fazenda do Limeiro, in Pará de Minas, MG. According to him, the very low speed (- 1km/h) helps to make a perfect cut without straining the engine. With 250 lactating cows, in a semi-confinement system, he uses the LS Tractor P80 for planting, cutting, distributing food and pulling the churum, which is the residue of the herd when in confinement. For him, in addition to being economical, the tractor offers a wide variety of gears, which ends up helping not only to save money, but also to reduce engine wear. “By having more options, I use the engine’s power more appropriately for the task I am performing”, he concludes.

With 35 lactating cows, the owner of Sítio Boa Vista, located in Prados, MG, Carlos Alexandre Figueiredo, makes corn silage and then puts it in the trench silo. The P80 works in all these activities and, for him, it is quite a tool. “The PTO with a three-speed option helps a lot with the tasks I do here on the farm,” says Figueiredo, adding that another item he uses a lot is the reverser, especially when cutting silage. “This forward and reverse system without using a clutch is too much to handle,” he concludes.

Owner of a YouTube channel, cattle rancher Arthur Cabral, from Fazenda Novo Destino, in Alvorada do Oeste, Rondônia, works with extensive beef cattle farming, doing the complete cycle. With the P80 he does all the work on the farm and is “your partner” on the social network, where he shows you his daily life using the tractor. “I made the channel to

to clear up the doubts I had when I went to choose a tractor and realized that many fellow producers had the same”, he says. Cabral says that several items please him and highlights the TDP, gear shifting and low fuel consumption. “I spray using between 4 and 4,5 liters/hour and on the grid, 7,5 liters/hr”, he guarantees. The rancher also highlights the “joystick” system for moving the Frontal Loader. According to him, this tool plus the reverser are essential to speed up animal care operations. “It’s very easy to work in livestock farming when you have these two items”, he concludes.

The lawyer, creator and owner of the Senepol da Conquista brand, Fabio Melo, works with genetic selection, breeding and confinement (for weight gain tests), at Fazenda Conquista, located in Rosário Oeste, near Cuiabá, MT. The Plus100 model he purchased and uses for work with soil preparation implements, forage feeder wagon, mixer and many other functions. “I see it as a very complete tractor with many items coming from the factory. It’s a good advantage,” he concludes.

The LS Tractor Plus series arrived in Brazil at the beginning of 2013. With the opening of the factory in Garuva, SC, three models began to be manufactured in Brazil, P80, P90 and P100. All models feature features such as a modern 12-speed transmission with reverse system and super-reducer (Creeper), Power Take-Off (TDP) with 3 rotation options, ZF front axle with an excellent turning radius of just 3,25 meters, Perkins engines with “MAR1” technology, reduction in pollutant emissions, option with flat operator platform with Rops and Awning or original factory Cab, Can also be factory equipped with the LS Front Loader, with Joystick drive system - multi function. “It’s the right tractor for the daily activities of modern livestock farming”, comments LS Tractor’s marketing and sales manager, AstorKilpp.