LAST winter, Corn Belt farmers returned from visiting Brazil and told how farmers there were wrestling with low soybean prices and higher production costs. Costs for fuel, fertilizer, chemicals, machinery and other inputs are up and some Brazilian farmers said they were going broke. Yields were reduced by drought and many Brazilian farmers had to spray with a fungicide to control Asian soybean rust. They had to spray two or three times, adding to production cost. "Despite problems, land values in several areas of Brazil are increasing," says Randy Hertz with Iowa-based Hertz Farm Management. "Farming in Brazil is profitable with 5 dollar per bushel beans, and very profitable with 6 dollar beans."
展开▼
