Cassio Carvalho do Val is about to invest nearly $2 million to add 10,000 cattle to his ranch on the edge of the Amazon. But instead of burning down forest for his growing herd to graze freely he will break with tradition, reducing his pastureland and adding grain to their diet.That is good news for the rain forest, but will probably upset organic folks who like grass-fed beef. The entire story of the interactions between the Brazilian government and the farmers is quite complex.
Val is one of a growing number of farmers betting on so-called integrated farming by diversifying production and revenue. His move epitomizes a quiet and fragile revolution that marks a departure from Brazil's slash-and-burn past.
It is a trend that may also help ease the felling of the world's largest rain forest.
Soy growers are rotating fields with more corn and cotton, planting forest and raising cattle. Ranchers are planting corn to supplement their herd's traditional diet of grasses.
Notably, the guy says he loses 80 calves a year to jaguars. I'm glad I don't have that problem. His father bought title to 220 square miles of land back in 1959. That's half the size of our county. That would be a nice piece of land to own.
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