Research Service in Washington.
“It’s a huge no-brainer in terms of agricultural potential and a moneymaker. It will happen eventually,” says Allen.
“All of the area that is prime land A strong cur- is drought prone and is no longer rency has stalled under irrigation,” he says. crop expansion in After the fall of communism, ir- Brazil. Drought has rigation sprinklers from state farms shrunk Argentina’s were carried off and sold for scrap. corn acreage this This year, Romania’s corn crop year. Long term, bounced back from 2007 drought Brazil has enor- yields of only 1. 54 metric tons per mous tracts of hectare to 3. (That’s about 48 bush- undeveloped land. els an acre.) This year’s corn yield And Argentina’s in Hungary was more than twice as farmers are already high – 111 bushels an acre. converting pas- Complicated land owner- tures to row crops. ship issues will slow progress in Uruguay is seen Romania. But now that it’s part by investors in the of the European Union, Allen region as more believes more investment in the farmer-friendly. country’s agriculture will follow and
Romania’s corn yields can at least match those of Hungary.
Another hot spot is Uruguay, a small nation south of Brazil that’s known for its grass-fed beef.
Farmers from Brazil, Argentina, virgin savanna and another 170 mil- to increase the world’s wheat crop by
and even the U.S. are buying lion in pasture suitable for crops. 20%. Much of that wheat is grown
grassland to convert to crops. But, as Allen points out, Brazil’s for feed, thus competing with corn.
Uruguay may be attracting inves- strong currency has lowered returns China is a major U.S. soybean
tors from halfway around the to Brazilian farmers (the opposite market and a one-time exporter of
globe. In September, the company situation from higher U.S. prices corn whose acreage is considered
Pranav Agro Industries in India an- boosted by a weak dollar). So Brazil’s maxed out by some trade groups.
nounced plans to buy 10,000 acres expansion has stalled. That’s a risk However, it, too, could expand
in Uruguay and Paraguay. for farmers in Russia, where oil and corn production, says Michael
gas exports have strengthened the Whitehead, a former Australian
The bigges T players? currency. And remaining land own- sheep and beef farmer who now
Uruguay (the size of Oklahoma) ership issues may slow development works for Rabobank in New York as
and Romania (almost as big in the old Soviet Union. vice president for food and agribusi-
as Texas, with a fifth in rich Still, the land boom in Russia and ness research.
Chernozem soils) are not the main neighboring Ukraine has gotten a The Chinese government values
players in global potential. The lot of press. The Wall Street Journal food self-sufficiency. And while it
main players remain Russia, Brazil, estimated earlier this year that those may not have more tillable land to
and China. two nations and Kazakhstan have tap, it has cotton. Where that crop is
By now, most of us know that idle land the size of Idaho, enough grown, the government is providing
Brazil has huge agricultural poten- incentives to switch to corn.
tial, perhaps 160 million acres of “In an economic slowdown, cotton
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