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When you've had the chance to visit with farmers, ag retailers, and farm managers for more than 30 years, there's one thing you learn right away about most of them: These folks are generally calm, down-to-earth realists who are prepared to handle anything that will prevent them from making a living. In a trip I took to Brazil with several other ag journalists in mid March (courtesy of Syngenta Crop Protection, which arranged the trip), I found that farmers in Brazil also are not easily panicked. There's one difference, however. These growers generally own and farm more land. Some grow thousands of hectares, and 1 hectare (ha) equals 2.47 acres. But they value their land, engage in many stewardship practices and realize the intricacies of growing a crop on the world market just as U.S. producers do.
Rust
You've all heard about rust. If you haven't, someone has sequestered you in a cave for the past year. There's not an agricultural publication/Web site, farm broadcaster or other journalist anywhere in the U.S. the past six months (some well before that) who hasn't written and spoken about Asian soybean rust and the potential for devastation to soybean fields. Since it was detected in Louisiana this past November, there's been talk of little else at state, regional and national farm shows or in coffee shops on main street. Our March issue of Apply had two rust stories. See that issue for details on products to use and methods to control the problem.
As soybean planting continues, the question becomes: Will farmers treat for rust preventively or curatively — or at all — here in 2005? Will it matter to them it's estimated that just three years ago (in the 2002-2003 season) 80% of Brazil's soybean acres were treated with fungicides twice to control the disease, increasing production costs by 15% but preventing massive losses of yield, according to Syngenta?
Only time will tell. But if soybean grower Marco Palmeira Chechia of Ponta Grossa County in Brazil is any example, it might be helpful to heed his advice or follow his pattern in determining whether to treat for the disease. He farms 450 ha. “We first saw rust last year around here,” he says. “I did test plots. On the land where I treated preventively, there was no loss in yield. Where I treated curatively, there was 30% yield loss. Where I did a test plot with no control products, my yield loss was 70%.”
There's not enough space in 10 farm magazines to truly capture the mood and determination of Brazilian ag specialists trying to get a handle on soybean rust, but in talking with farmers and retailers, I learned that rust can be controlled if proper action is taken. It's not known yet what the Brazilian soybean crop will be for 2005, but some are talking about it being a record crop. (Two years earlier, rust cost Brazilian farmers five million tons of soybeans, according to Olava Correa da Silva of ABC Foundation, a private research facility in Brazil.) A record crop couldn't happen if they didn't now know how to control rust. Instead, what might prevent a record crop is a severe drought in some southern parts of the country. Brazilians have learned to deal with rust.
So exactly what are they saying? Here's a capsule of comments from farmers and agronomists about rust and how to be prepared for the season ahead.
I want to personally thank Jose Sergio Osse and Roberto Moretzsohn de Castro of Syngenta in Brazil for their expertise on soybean rust and, more importantly, for their interpreter skills. Although a couple of Brazilian farmers spoke English fairly well, Sergio and Roberto helped this journalist, who spoke not one word of Portuguese.
Ivo Carlos Arent Filho, Tibaji County
Filho farms 5,500 ha of corn and beans. He also owns a bed-and-breakfast, which, he jokingly says, “my wife manages so she won't bother me while I farm.” He is not affiliated with any farmer cooperative but works with an agronomist who consults with 17 other farmers in the area.
“I rely on my agronomist and retailer to help me make buying decisions,” he says. “My agronomist chooses the best products, then closes the deal with the retailer. Together they work on my spraying schedule.” In Brazil, retailers do not custom apply crop protection products. Application is all done by growers.
Filho works with three retailers to buy products but works predominantly with one he's known and trusted for 15 years. “Price is very important to me, but also I want someone who's trustworthy,” he says.
Albertino Perez, farm manager for Henrique and Anselmo Alberti's farm in Tibaji County
An agronomist for the Alberti farm, Perez is in charge of approximately 5,000 ha. About 70% of that land is soybeans. His soybean yields are about 3,200 kg/ha, when the average for the area is closer to 2,000 kg/ha.
“I first saw pressure from rust last year,” he says. “It is better to do preventive sprays. By the time growers see rust, it's already here and difficult to control. The earlier you spray the better.”
Perez says nozzle pressure is very important when spraying for rust. “You must reach the soybean plant from top to bottom when you spray because rust works its way from the bottom of the plant to the top,” he explains. “You need the right pressure.”
Perez buys some products from retailers, some direct from the manufacturer. “I buy where I can get the best price,” he says.
Richard Djkstra, Ponta Grossa County
When you first meet Richard Djkstra, you feel like you're visiting with any soybean grower in the U.S. His English is excellent, his farming acumen is second to none in the area and his leadership skills are known throughout the country. It helps that his father Frank was the man who introduced no-till farming to Brazil in the mid 1970s. Today, Djkstra carries on the legacy of his father, leading the no-till technology revolution in Brazil, serving on the board of his local farmer cooperative and heading the no-till association. He also is an agronomist.
This is his second year dealing with rust. “We monitor every four days for rust,” he says. “The climate here is good for the potential for rust. We believe we can lose five to six bags [300 kg/ha] to disease if we don't treat.”
Djkstra, who farms 900 ha, works with an agronomist at the Batavo Cooperative for a second opinion of his farming practices. “It's good to have another idea on how to do things,” he says. “We work with our dealer to determine spraying schedules and whether to use a surfactant.”
Jose Luiz Buss, Rubens Kliewer, Armin Kliewer, Ponta Grossa County
Armin and his son Rubens rely on the expertise of their agronomist (Buss) to help with product selections and agronomic practices. “We tell the retailer what we want,” Armin says.
The Kliewers were asked about any concerns with resistance. They have land in northern Brazil, where rust has been detected for four years. “We're more concerned with efficiency than resistance to products,” Buss says. “We work closely with three different retailers. Price is most important to us.”
Today, these farmers prefer preventive treatments for rust. In the future, if curative measures become more efficient and economical, they may switch to those treatments. “It all will depend on price,” Armin says.
Willybrordus Sleutjes, Castro County
Known to his friends and neighbors as Willy, Sleutjes sprays preventively for rust. This is his second year dealing with the disease. He farms about 1,100 ha of corn and soybeans (and a small amount of dry beans). He started farming in 1968 with 250 ha. He belongs to Batavo Cooperative, a large farmer cooperative that works with growers managing about 140,000 ha in southern Brazil.
“I believe that rust will appear if I don't spray,” he says. “I will spray a fungicide three times during the season for rust and other diseases [such as powdery mildew].”
In the above photo, Sleutjes (left) talks with Syngenta agronomist Roberto Moretzsohn de Castro.
Best treatments
Farmers in Brazil have seen the threat and discovered that treating with a triazole + strobilurin is the best advice. They have learned that triazoles are a better curative approach (and less expensive). Using a triazole and strobilurin usually results in a longer residual than either alone. A triazole or triazole and strobilurin tank mix is best if the disease shows up early in the season at the vegetative stage.
The experience of meeting and discussing issues like rust with Brazilian farmers was one I'll not forget soon. They reinforced what I always knew about farmers. They are resilient, have common sense and have found a way to deal with rust in a manageable way. The same will happen in the U.S. I'm sure of it!
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