The farm primarily plants soybeans as its first crop, with corn and cotton as its main second crops. In addition to the traditional crops, they also raise 50,000 heads of cattle and a substantial number of eucalyptus trees.

The Bom Futuro farm owns approximately 50% of the land it farms and leases the remaining 50%. At maximum capacity, they have facilities to store about 7 million bushels of grain.The farm’s soybean yield averaged about 53 bushels per acre. They had been hoping for about 55–56 bushels per acre.

While the warm, wet climate lends to excellent growing conditions, it’s also a haven for disease and insect pressures. In Brazil, the average farm will spray soybeans about 7 times per growing season! They apply Roundup before planting, two herbicide applications, three insecticide and fungicide applications, and paraquat at the end of the growing season.

The Bom Futuro farm operates with zero crop insurance. This is typical for most large farms in Brazil. The government does offer some small insurance programs, but the programs would apply to smaller farmers and wouldn’t make sense for large farms. The Bom Futuro farm has very stable production, with many locations spread throughout Mato Grosso, so this arrangement helps mitigate their risks.

In Portuguese, “Bom Futuro” means “positive future,” and they are doing their best to ensure it. Sustainability was a focus we heard about on their farm. The farm has implemented no-till, and with two growing seasons, there is never a field left unplanted. This is very important to reduce runoff and soil loss from the heavy rains. Their sustainability focus also includes maintaining almost 400,000 acres of woodland preservation. The farm is legally required to have about 35% of its land in preserves in the Mato Grosso region. However, if you were in the Amazon, this percentage would be much higher, around 80%.

According to sdsoybean.org