Peanut grower increases yield with precision ag tools

Ever since José Luis de Souza Neto has adopted Trimble´s RTX solution 6 years ago, his Santa Rita Farm in Jaboticabal, São Paulo produces 20 sacks (or 500 kilos) of peanuts per hectare extra.

Using precision ag tools also helps the farmer to plant at previously inaccessible areas.

6,250 kilos per hectare

Currently, he harvests 250 sacks (or 6,250 kilos) per hectare, almost double the amount of what the average Brazilian peanut farm harvests. Brazil produces around 500,000 tons of peanuts on a yearly basis, which makes it the second largest peanut producer in Latin America, just behind Argentina.

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José Neto grows 1,300 ha of peanuts and 2,000 of sugar cane. – Photos: Daniel Azevedo

“We got these exceptional results by using software that designs our guidance lines and with the help of autosteer. Now I can plant 580 ha that we had never used during the past 50 years. This makes a very big difference”, explains Neto.

Neto says Trimble´s RTX system and autosteer systems are his main tools, which allow him to drive straight along parallel lines.

Within 2,5 cm accuracy

According to Tiago Cury, Trimble´s commercial manager in Brazil, these tools operate within 2,5 cm accuracy using GNSS positioning services via satellite or cellular delivery worldwide.

“Neto uses several precision ag tools during the season, from planting uptil harvesting. When we look at Trimble RTX, one of its main features is that it provides extreme accuracy. The system is ideal for work requiring 2 cm accuracy and repeatability”, says Cury.

Currently, Santa Rita Farm grows 1,300 ha of peanuts and 2,000 of sugar cane. Despite that, peanuts are the most important for them. Last season, their total production amounted to 240,000 sacks.

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Trimble’s RTX system helps Neto increase his yield.

25% increase

For the coming season the planting has already been done. The growing season lasts around 120 days. “Peanuts are pivotal for us because of the margins. For the 2019-2020 harvest, we expect to see 300,000 sacks, which means a further 25% increase”, says Neto.

Jaboticabal is the ‘peanut capital’ of Brazil and São Paulo state and produces 90% of the country’s total peanut production. Around half of the peanuts grown in Brazil are shipped abroad.