With its own investments, the group expanded its planted area in more than 16%
With good compensation perspectives for the 2021/2022 grain harvest – which must be helped by a weak La Niña, according to the weather forecast so far – the soybean producers are already counting the days to start planting. The plans of Paraná Wood Group (GPW) are all set and prepared to start the new harvest, which shall take place from September 15. At the moment, still during the sanitary window, the machines are busy drying the cover and opening 145 new hectares for planting the seeds. For the coming season, Paraná Wood Agrícola will have a total area of 871 own hectares, 16.67% more area than the past season.
According to GPW owner, João Luiz Garcia de Faria, the expectation is that the farms of the group excel in their production. “I believe the weather will help us a lot. Since we had this frost, I think we will have fewer pests”, he said. According to him, GPW made a well-adjusted, punctual calendar, which must grow the productivity a lot this year. “In the national scenario, I cannot foresee a huge increase in the price of the bag, there will be a balance between cost and production. So only those seeking productivity increase and lower costs will be able to have more profit. And that is what we do here, using the best techniques”, he adds.
According to the general manager at GPW, Douglas Mendes, approximately 40 thousand kilos of seeds will be used in the area, and the expectation is to have over 15% increase in production per hectare in relation to the last season, when an average of 50 bags were harvested. “That was the first year of planting in most of the area, so we had to ‘fix them’, and the result was within the expectation. For the next season, we have greater expectations, around 67 bags per hectare”, he declares.
According to the manager, the planting of soybean at the beginning of the season will depend on the weather. But the idea, according to him, is to plant as early as possible in order to have the winter crop. “Everything is set and ready. Unfortunately, we cannot control the weather. Even the best forecast cannot get it 100% right. However, we use the weather windows and count on God to help us”, he says.
Faria says that, despite GPW’s greatest focus being on forestry – with approximately 1,500 hectares of their own forests -, the expansion of the soybean area was planned to take advantage of the opportunities that came up. “We cannot turn a blind eye to soybean. Soybean and maze are part of our fattening livestock. So, it complements the cycle. Since we had the opportunity of purchasing new lands, new machinery, we were able to grow, and we grew”, he explains. According to him, the triangulation of agriculture, livestock and forests makes the processes become integrated and “we don’t put all our eggs in the same basket”. “This allows for greater profitability, since as they are all commodities, sometimes one is better than the other. And then, the one that is better, provides sustainability to those that are less developed”, he states.This integrated view in the production has been changing the scenario of the region of São Jerônimo da Serra. Today, for the fact the group is the largest employer of the city and having good results in everything it sets itself out to do, it is an example for other producers. “Many producers have seen our commercial success and sought to mirror the techniques and technologies developed by Paraná Wood. This is quite interesting for the region, since it brings greater development for the city and the region, since the money circulates here. For us, it is very satisfying because we want to see our region grow economically”, Faria says.