Cattle
The 180 million Brazilians create a strong domestic market for (grass fed) beef. The annual per capita consumption of beef in Brazil is around 36kg (79Lbs), in New Zealand it is around 28kg's and in Australia around 37kg's. Cattle are fed no grain to finish or fatten prior to slaughter, which is different to North American practices of beef production. However the cattle could easily be supplemented some grain products to fatten and produce meat for the lucrative export market.
The rotational cropping – grazing management program will allow for good, rapid soil building and nutrient increment for the next crop going into that ground. Animal manure and the grass will also build up organic matter within the soil structure. Rotating from cropping to cattle can reduce the spread of plant and animal diseases and reduce the problem of over cropping and monocultures; and at the same time increasing the soils biological and biochemical activities, which are essential to proficient farming. Rotational dry land farming and cattle with no irrigation is also a good way to build the soil and fertility. It is slower and less capital intensive, since there is no irrigation expense. The extra money invested into irrigation systems will surely be rewarded with extra income from extra crops and the continuation of the bio producing life cycle throughout the year.
With careful management a nelore cross bred; or a simmental cross-bred animal can be fattened in 1 year (assuming the cattle were bought at approximately one year old, weighing about 6 arrobas {180kg’s} per animal and sold at 16 arrubas {480kg’s} per animal). The cattle gain approximately 0.8 arrobas (24kg) per month, on an intensively managed 103-hectare pivot irrigated area. With additional supplements fed in the central loafing area, the time for the animal to be ready for market can be reduced and the carrying capacity increased. This is the intention of Nova Brazilandia to supplement the grass but certainly not replace it. There is an abattoir in the nearby town called Barreiras, which is export licensed, but currently can’t source sufficient cattle locally and has to truck them in from other states.
EMBRAPA research shows that combining cropping and intensive pasture management cattle can be run at approximately 3.2 animals per hectare. Their example is of a 10,000ha grazing property, which supports 11,000 cattle. This is converted into a rotating crop / pasture system with 7500ha of crops and 2500ha of pasture, reducing cattle numbers to 8000. This does reduce the number of cattle by 30% but with the additional income from 7500ha of grain and oil seed crops this will more than compensate; and substantially enhance the total net return of the property. This practice of integrated farming is well known and is definitely a more business-orientated approach than “having all your eggs in one basket” approach that so many farmers operate under. But grain, seed and commodity crops must be harvested at a particular time and are a lot more difficult to store on the property very cheaply and successfully.
The current foot and mouth status in Brazil is "under control," and the Western Bahia area is certified "foot and mouth free." There have been a couple of cases of foot and mouth in Brazil in the past; it did affect the international market with many nations banning importation of Brazilian beef outright. Luckily the domestic market is so large that the export market does not currently control the values of beef. It should be noted that the areas where the outbreaks of foot and mouth have been are in the South, near the Paraguayan boarder which is over 2000 km’s away from the Bahia area where Nova Brazilandia’s farm is located, however one outbreak taints the name of the entire country. In 2008 a national animal identification tag system was implemented to try and curb disease problems from spreading, it is a difficult task considering the vast numbers of animals and their distribution! Brazil needs to become completely free of foot and mouth before it will be the undoubted world leader of beef markets. Current figures show that Brazil is now the number one beef producer in the world with over 1.8 million metric tonnes, with Australia a close second with 1.5 million metric tonnes. Australia has historically been the largest bovine meat exporter in the world, but Australia is suffering from extreme water shortages, that do not help agriculture in general. Brazil’s rise to the number 1 spot is due to the quality of grass fed beef produced and the excellent level of sanitation and modernization of slaughter and processing facilities.
By the year 2020 global demand for meat is projected to have increased by 58% to reach 31.3 million tonnes per year. So an intensive beef production unit is surely going to be a good investment for the future.
