Mapping sugarcane mills and beef cattle properties in São Paulo state

Abstract

Brazil has the second-largest cattle herd in the world with an area of approximately 167 million hectares and approximately 213 million heads. Cattle management in extensive pasture predominates in 90% of the country. This management takes from 2 to 5 years to slaughter an animal and uses a large area when compared to countries with intensive production or feedlots. Besides being a large beef cattle producer, Brazil is also the largest producer of sugarcane in the world, concentrating the production area in the Center-South region. Sugarcane ethanol life cycle has environmental advantages when compared to gasoline's and there is a growing world concern about climatic impacts from agricultural practices; cattle ranching ranks 1st place in the ranking of greenhouse gas emissions in the Brazilian agricultural sector. An alternative to decrease time to slaughter would be integrating beef cattle production with ethanol chain using ethanol by-products as cattle feed and also save land through pasture intensification. However, just as corn-ethanol - cattle integration in the United States, the viability of such integration requires both systems to be close. The objective of this project is to map cattle properties and sugarcane plants in São Paulo State using literature, properties data, and interviews as a research source. (AU)