SLC Agricola to Expand Crop Production by 9% in 2024/25

SLC Agricola is one of the largest farming operations in Brazil and it is going to get larger in 2024/25. In a conference call with investors last week, company executives indicated that they are renting an additional 59,200 hectares (146,200 acres) for crop production during the 2024/25 growing season. This represents an increase of 9% to the 661,300 hectares (1,633,400 acres) they already have under cultivation.

The company’s CEO, Aurelio Pavinato, indicated that they had agreed to rent an additional 30,734 hectares from Agro Penido, 21,837 hectares from Agropecuaria Rica, and an additional 14,572 hectares in the state of Piaui. More than 60% of SLC’s crops are produced on rented land. The CEO indicated that low commodity prices have resulted in a soft rental market, which he felt was a good time to expand operations.

In 2023/24, SLC cultivated 605,000 hectares of row crops (1,494,300 acres) including 320,000 hectares of soybeans (790400 acres), 190,000 hectares of cotton (469,300 acres), and 95,000 hectares of corn (234,650 acres).

SLC is also looking for more opportunities to expand further in 2025/26 due to declining rental prices resulting from low commodity prices. Pavinato feels the corn market is at an equilibrium with demand due to production problems in important countries such as Argentina, Ukraine, and other European countries. The situation for soybeans is different with large productions expected in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina in 2024/25.

Tags: cotton, row crops, SLC Agricola, corn, Brazil, soybeans, Production, crop, hectares, cultivation