2009-2010 Weekly Crop Progress Reports
Name: Olavo M Borges
Location: Conceição das Alagoas, Minas Gerais
Operation: 320 rented acres of soybeans, 1035 acres sugarcane, 30 dairy cows
This Week's Question of the Week: "What do you like most about your job?"
It's really dry, and we're at a full stop. I'm waiting for some rain in order to be able to spray some fungicide. It's been nearly three weeks where we've had no rain on the sorghum crop, which is not developing much right now.
There's really not much to do either with the sorghum or the corn right now, with this lack of rain. So I've been spending more time, lately, with the sugarcane. I started cutting one field, and should finish up there by May 5. Then, at the end of May, I'll go on to the next field.
It's a little early for me to be thinking about the next crop year and buying inputs. That'll only be somewhere around July, when I'll start to think about what I'll plant next season. One thing's for sure: there's no way to increase the planted area, as we don't have the financial resources to do it. Plus expectations for the next crop year are low. I'm down about it. I'll plant, of course, but I'll plant because that's what I do. But the outlook isn't good.
You asked what I like about farming. Well, I've been on the farm since I was a child. I was born a farmer. I guess that's my vocation. But it's one I'm slowly liking less and less because of just so many difficulties.