Farm Profitability and Technology Adoption in Brazil
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Yesterday we reported on some of the differences between farming in the U.S. versus Brazil. One of the comments made by Alex Wimbush, chief digital officer of Lavoro Ag is that Brazilian farmers often tended to be more profitable than their U.S. counterparts. He says this has a lot to do with weather and land ownership.
Wimbush… “It's the fact that there are multiple seasons over the course of the year. Another point of comparison I guess, would be land ownership. Brazilian farmers tend to own their land at a much higher rate than their US counterparts. So when you couple the land ownership with the fact that across most of the country you can get two crops in per year, in some parts you can even get three crops in per year, you spread all that out and you end up with higher profitability.”
Wimbush added that U.S. farmers are often more productive when it comes to yield per acre, and technology adoption is a contributing factor.
Wimbush… “So I'd say from a tech adoption perspective what I've seen, I mean, certainly when it comes to seeds and genetics they're right up there. I think the same would be true when it comes to crop protection and also , the biological piece. I've, in general, found a lot less adoption from a digital perspective. When I'm out in the field and I start asking around, you know, is anybody using FieldView? Is anybody using John Deere Ops Center? Tools like that, it's a way lower percentage than I would expect.”
Lavoro Agro is Latin America’s largest ag retailer.
