Why, despite everything, contractors and producers are present at Expoagro

Contractors and producers are the protagonists of an exhibition designed for them.

All the companies of machinery, seeds, inputs and all the implements and services associated with agriculture bring the best they have to Expoagro to facilitate the investment decision for the farmer.

, in eastern Buenos Aires, owner of three planters and a combine harvester,

could be seen .

When he started in 2001 he still did all the sowing conventionally, in 2003 he bought his first direct seeder, a single disc with turbo, and today all

.

"If you don't have that today, you won't work, although I don't see that represented in the price they pay us, these equipments are very expensive in dollars."

Regarding the evolution of technology, he says that before the seeders were 7 meters wide, and today with the 9 meter ones he does up to 100 hectares per day.

“

, before they were from May to August and today you start on May 15 and end on June 20.

In the thick one, the late corn date was extended but the sunflower date was delayed.

We plant corn and sunflower for a month and a half, very little first class soybeans in our area, and second class soybeans.

”, he affirms.

Claudio Esperon, planting and harvesting contractor, at Expoagro. Photo: JUAN JOSE GARCIA

In terms of harvesting, in its beginnings Esperón had conventional cylinder machines, in 2008 it changed to

with machines equipped with satellite mapping and all the technology that is required.

“I see the activity as very complicated.

As service providers, the costs have become very high, today it is almost impossible to renew a machine.

In addition, the deadlines to collect are getting longer, it is very likely that contractors will remain on the way.

Our area is an oasis in terms of the impact of the drought.

.

Fixed costs such as fuel, social charges and taxes have gone way up, ”he warns.

, also walked through the streets of the exhibition

, who arrived with his brother with a very clear objective: to seek information on processes and technologies for soybean processing.

“

.

We are losing many opportunities by selling the grain alone.

We saw good options and we were also at INTA learning about the process”, he says.

Carlos Fassi, agricultural producer from the town of Santa Isabel, in the south of Santa Fe

Fassi produces soybeans, wheat and corn on 1,200 hectares and has already adopted the main precision agriculture tools, such as variable sowing and fertilization, monohopper harvest control, automatic records in management software... And now it wants to continue advancing.

Regarding this campaign, he says that he was quite lucky with the rains compared to most producers,

.

He says that in the exhibition he saw that there are financing alternatives, but warns that from what he has been talking to his colleagues, in a few months the blow of the drought will be felt very strongly in all the towns.

“We are very concerned because

.

It will be felt in transportation, workshops, supplies, tire shops… ”, she says.

The farmers present

Expoagro's livestock sector looks renewed this year, with a new system that puts genetics at the center, cabins and breed associations with breeders in situ, talks and ranch auctions to a full tent.

And in the immediate vicinity, companies that offer fodder machinery, sleeves, drinkers, sanitary and nutritional products, solutions for parceling out lots and

Along with other colleagues,

, Buenos Aires province, walks there.

“We are trying to innovate with the electronic caravan to reduce steps.

We already work with precision scales but we take all the data manually, and with the caravans we could save those steps.

Perhaps the initial investment is large but it has a long-term duration, ”says Elliot, who completes the cycle with 1,200 of his own sows and has the idea of ​​continuing to grow if he manages to find the space to do so.

“

.

How many times did he go through the sleeve, the weight, the whole story, ”he adds.

Then he tells that within his scheme is the production of all the necessary fodder, and that in this item the company is transferring practices from agriculture to livestock, such as precision planting, management by environments, monitoring of the green index, production in plots and so on.

Due to the dimensions and characteristics of his field, the incorporation of drones to monitor the herd is still far off, but in the future he does plan to incorporate other technologies such as automatic solar pumps to be able to bring water to drinking troughs in each plot, so that the animals They don't have to move as much.

Regarding the expo, he assures:

and the terms are much longer.

Instead of taking out a loan with a rate of one hundred percent, they offer it to you at 60-70 percent and with more installments, in pesos.

Alejandro Elliot, fifth generation of cattle producers in Azul, province of Buenos Aires.

And regarding the current activity, he acknowledges that he was lucky not to be so affected by the drought and he is optimistic for the future.

“In Azul we are in an oasis, the dry weather hit but we managed to turn around well.

Regarding prices, I believe that in the next harvest the price of calves will remain the same and even rise throughout the year.

The farm may not return the investment right away, but it continues to be a security”, he remarks.

look too

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Patricia Bullrich and Facundo Manes, going their separate ways at Expoagro