Brazil is a major soybean, corn, and cotton grower but could expand its crop area by more than a third. Successful Farming says Brazil could do that by converting overgrazed or overgrown pastureland says a research agency in Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture. A team of university economists say besides the potential addition of 70 million acres of cropland, Brazil could also increase production by devoting more land to second-crop corn.
“The potential for Brazil to expand its agricultural output through converting degraded pastureland into cropland is huge,” the U.S. analysts said while writing in Farmdoc. “With approximately 70 million acres identified as suitable for conversion, Brazil could increase its total planted area by 35 percent compared to this year.”
There are currently 45 million acres of “degraded” pastureland in four states that are leading corn and soybean producers in Brazil. Experts say Brazil has a lot of unfarmed land with potential.