Mario Alberto Sanchez
San Jerônimo
Santa Fé, Argentina
Sustainable practices lead
to farm growth, family security
It is hard to find a bigger believer in sustainability than
Mario Alberto Sanchez. After all, being a good steward
of the land has led to opportunity for his farm business
and his family.
Sanchez’s family enterprise of soybeans, corn, sorghum
and sunflowers has exploded from 30 hectares to 3,300
over the past 22 years – the growth is, in part, due to
his sustainable cropping practices.
“When we learned sustainability techniques, we were able
fix poor fields until they became productive,” says the
43-year-old cereal and oilseed grower from San Jerônimo,
Province of Santa Fé, Argentina. “We started out with
direct planting into bad soil.”
“We received thanks from land owners and they renewed
the agreements when there was the land leasing crisis,”
he says. “They trusted us as we showed them the
techniques. We started with a field that was not
producing and today it’s good – the field owner gains
and we’re able to compete.”
Leasing farmland is very competitive in Argentina.
Approximately 70 percent of the country’s soybean
production is on rented land. According to Sanchez, once
you lose a field to another grower or group of growers,
it’s very difficult to get it back.
For instance, growing glyphosate-tolerant corn and
soybeans has led to increased profits and reduced costs.
“We started using the product because of the quality
of the seeds. We began testing and realised that besides
the quality improvement, there was an increase in
performance,” he says, adding that fewer crop protection
applications and working in a preventative way is a
real plus.
“When we learned sustainability techniques,
we were able fix poor fields until they
became productive.”
“When I would get a bad field, I imagined that in three
years it would be good,” says the agronomy graduate.
“When you show the field owner that you have done it,
and you have done it for him, it’s very unlikely that a large
group or cooperative can offer the owner double and take
it from you.” Sanchez explains his independent status
can sometimes make it difficult to compete, but he is
proud to say, “I have never lost a field. We treat the
owner well and make him believe in sustainability.”
Sanchez’s desire to expand and lease land in more
regions is fuelled by the desire to advance his business
and, as a result, his family’s well being. In addition to
sustainable farming practices, he credits innovations
in seed biotechnology and crop protection for having
helped make his farm’s expansion possible.
Sanchez’s fields are located in a 400 km radius of his
home – a distance that makes timely crop scouting for
insects, disease and weeds nearly impossible. “With
these products, it is like you are getting ahead of troubles.
And then you have a better quality of life for the producer,
who does not need to run so much,” says the father of
two teenagers who enjoys not having to “put out fires”
anymore.
“With this product we’re more relaxed. The leftover time
can be devoted to family, or in our case, we can rent or
buy more land and then we can advance,” he says.
More land means more chances to try new crop
protection products. When a manufacturer approached
him to test a corn product in a 5-hectare trial, he
surprised them and used it on 50 hectares – 50% of his
corn crop with success. “We don’t have time to lose an
opportunity to increase production,” he says.
For Sanchez, it’s a combination of using the innovations
of plant science and respecting the land that helps him
capture every opportunity.
06/09-8499
“With this product we’re
more relaxed. The leftover
time can be devoted to
family, or in our case, we
can rent or buy more land
and then we can advance.”