Canola Harvest is presenting good yield

Region of Erechim must gather from 25 to 30 sacks of canola per hectare

The harvest of canola in the region of Alto Uruguai may begin this week. The region has nearly 2.000 hectares area planted developed by the team of the Development Department of BSBIOS in the towns of Coxilha, Água Santa, Tapejara, Sertão, Estação, Áurea, Centenário, Carlos Gomes, Gaurama, Erechim, Três Arroios, Entre Rios do Sul and Nonoai.

According to Agronomist Márcia Muliterno the expectation for the harvest is good "the crops in the region of Erechim must show productivity from 25 to 30 sacks/ha, thus the weather this year was favorable to the development of the crop, the region had little frost as well as continued solar insolation periods, which benefits the crop". For the good development of the crop some care like well conducted sowing, fertilization according to soil demands, observe right growth time, and managing crop correctly is necessary.

BSBIOS, through the Development Department, provides technical assistance from planting to harvest. Canola is a great option for the winter as crop rotation, besides producers have credit lines available with the opening of the Official Insurance (Proagro), that was possible from the publishing of the Agroclimatic Zoning, from 2008, which allowed the agricultural insurance to canola producers and real guarantee of commercialization, thus the company guarantees purchase prices of production before contracts, what provides liquidity to the crop, unlike wheat that has low market liquidity between winter crops.

Farmer Flávio Cesar De Marchi, from the local Rio Toldo in Erechim bets on the crop for the second time. "In 2009 I cultivated 20 ha and the productivity was 16 sacks/ha, what was already worth it due to the low cost of production. This year I have increased the area to 350 ha and I am having average 25 sacks/ha, which is quite superior to the previous one", celebrates De Marchi. That is the same path producer Gelson Thomaz is following, from Line 4 in Gaurama that for the first time is growing canola in 19 ha. "I opted for canola as a winter alternative, as crop rotation system and in order to change from wheat a little, which does not have so good prices and some difficulties at the time of sale. With canola I did a preliminary contract with BSBIOS. There is a value which covers the cost of production and the rest is the price of soybean, where before planting you can already calculate the profit you will have", asserted Thomaz.

The crop work must last until the first fortnight of November. In 2010, BSBIOS developed an area with nearly 15 thousand hectares in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. Canola is a vegetable oil crop which is comprised of around 36% oil, and it is ideal for the production of biodiesel, thus it generates vegetable oils in the winter period, not competing with the main vegetable oil crop of the region, that is, soybean, therefore, being a great option of profit for the areas where there is no growth during the winter.