Grazing Farms in Argentina
InheritEstate is the first international network of attorneys with a strong background in grazing farms in Argentina. Within the vast array of subfields in agribusiness, pasture mainly refers to the type of land used for grazing. In the narrow sense, pasture lands are enclosed tracts of farmland for domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. In addition, the vegetation of tended pasture –forage- consists mostly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs. The rearing of livestock in Argentina usually involves cattle, sheep, and goats. The main products obtained from this industry are meat, milk, and wool, which are largely known worldwide due to their high standards of quality and uniqueness.
Even though every single province in Argentina stands out by its own environment and agricultural features, La Pampa definitely holds the finest grazing grounds in the world. In fact, these large farms spread over more than 10,000 hectares. In addition, these vast temperate grasslands are ideal for raising beef cattle and dairy cattle. Even though there is a significant lack of trees, somehow the fertility of this area is outstanding, mainly due to a constant rate of rainfalls and moderate weather. It is worth noting that alfalfa is the main fodder crop of cattle.
Dairy production in the province of La Pampa follows the pastoral systems. Most of the diet (72.5%) corresponds to roughage and 27.5% is based on supplements. Supplements are concentrate feed or fodder (silage, hay, and grain). Concentrate feed (with 85-90% dry matter) is for balance diets, cover seasonal deficiencies in the production of the grassland, and for providing food in stages with higher nutritional requirements. Permanent grasslands based on alfalfa (pure or associated with grasses or other leguminouses) take up 48% of the surface. The grasses often used are cebadilla, festuca, and rye grass. Another very remarkable leguminose is white clover. The cultivation of winter pastures includes oats, rye, and triticale. The rest of the surface remains for seasonal summer pastures: sorghum and maize. Another advantage is that these pastures can be grazed or harvested for herd feeding in periods of higher requirements.
Grazing Farms in Argentina
Competitive dairy farms in La Pampa have low levels of consumption of concentrates and the development of different strategies in the use of pastures and food supplementation. The agrosystem in La Pampa tends to involve several different productive operations, which compete for land and interact with each other (milk yield, cattle fattening, and agriculture). Lately, there is a significant tendency to use a continuous process of productive specialization, concentration of farms, increase of size, and reduction of the land.
The pasture lands devoted to dairy products in La Pampa require relatively small modifications in the management of farms to potentially enhance positive performance and improve the use of resources. In order to implement these innovative modifications requires specialized technical assistance and hands-on knowledge of the system. Moreover, the proper training of farmers and technical staff is very important, especially in areas such as nutrition, pasture improvement, the management of production, and the use and conservation of natural resources. It is highly important to involve professionals from different fields in order to address the issues involved in grazing farms. For example, agriculture, livestock, conservation, and management.
On the other hand, the Andean area and Patagonia are the main examples of cool and dry regions in Argentina. They are exceptional environments for sheep rearing.
The use of arable farming, however, is to grow crops, while mixed farming may include livestock and crops on a single farm. These specific types of farming require improvements, such as drainage (in wet regions), stock tanks (in dry regions), irrigation, and sowing clover.
At InheritEstate, our team of legal professionals applies a very comprehensive approach to the management of pasture lands. For example, some factors to take into account are topography, altitude, exposure, and rainfall. Mollisol lands are typically semi-arid to semi-humid areas that are grassy and wet. Pasture farming occurs in areas with steep slopes, cold strong winds, and a wet climate. The combination of these conditions provides several advantages for raising livestock than crops. As a matter of fact, the raising of sheep takes place in cooler regions with steep hills and above-average rainfall. However, dairy farms benefit from warm and wet climates.
Back in the XVI century, the Spaniards brought their own cattle and horses. As a result, these herds grew and changed the environment for the better by increasing their levels of fertility. In turn, the large cattle population aimed for economic prosperity.
Livestock production in Argentina can be divided into two different sectors: a modernized commercial part and a communal part. Pastoralism is still a prominent figure in the communal sector of Argentina’s livestock production. The main difference between these two types is the limited access to new technology and external inputs.
In fact, effective organic dairy farms are pasture-based systems with a close link to the environment. A key element is to assess the ability of cows to efficiently convert pasture into products. The whole system is sustainable over time, by achieving a balanced use of internal resources. Thus, it does not endanger the future of the agrosystem in Argentina.
On the other hand, farms without supplementary feed respond to a family-efficient and economically feasible model. This mainly includes different strategies for the use of pastures, technologies, and forage reserves.