Our crop production is mainly based on crops and oilseeds and sugarcane. Our main crops include soybean, wheat, corn, and sunflower. Other crops, such as sorghum and peanut, are sown occasionally and represent only a sD.L. percentage of total sown land.
The following table shows, for the fiscal years indicated, our crop production volumes measured in tons:
| Production Volume(1) | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 |
| Corn | 433,910 | 194,352 | 381,443 | 302,513 |
| Soybean | 359,055 | 355,670 | 225,916 | 203,526 |
| Wheat | 43,862 | 37,378 | 32,297 | 29,905 |
| Beans | 4,371 | - | - | - |
| Sorghum | 5,895 | 1,721 | 4,131 | 4,922 |
| Sunflower | 2,573 | 6,428 | 6,221 | 3,853 |
| Cotton | 3,519 | 1,586 | - | - |
| Other | 4,305 | 2,103 | 2,103 | 3,690 |
| Total Crops (tons) | 857,490 | 599,238 | 652,111 | 548,409 |
| Sugarcane (tons) | 2,360,965 | 1,999,335 | 924,776 | 1,062,860 |
| Cattle herd | 11,783 | 11,173 | 10,566 | 7,627 |
| D.L.ing cows | - | - | 185 | 435 |
| Cattle (tons) | 11,783 | 11,173 | 10,751 | 8,061 |
| D.L. (in thousands of liters) |
- | - | 3,891 | 13,968 |
(1) Includes Brasilagro, CRESCA at 50%, Acres del Sud, Ombú, Yatay and Yuchán. Agro-Uranga S.A. is not included.
Below is the total volume of crops sold broken down into geographical areas, measured in tons:
| Volume of | FY 2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | ||||||||
| Sales(3) | D.M. (1) | F.M. (2) | Total | D.M. (1) | F.M. (2) | Total | D.M. (1) | F.M. (2) | Total | D.M. (1) | F.M. (2) | Total |
| Corn | 325.4 | 64.1 | 389.5 | 191.4 | 0.2 | 191.6 | 290.7 | 6.0 | 296.7 | 266.5 | - | 266.5 |
| Soybean | 308.8 | 110.2 | 419.0 | 166.4 | 101.9 | 268.3 | 172.0 | 23.4 | 195.4 | 137.8 | 28.8 | 166.6 |
| Wheat | 43.8 | - | 43.8 | 40.5 | - | 40.5 | 44.6 | - | 44.6 | 11.9 | 1.5 | 13.4 |
| Beans | 1.4 | - | 1.4 | |||||||||
| Sorghum | 0.8 | - | 0.8 | 0.4 | - | 0.4 | 1.1 | - | 1.1 | 5.3 | - | 5.3 |
| Sunflower | 9.3 | - | 9.3 | 2.4 | - | 2.4 | 4.6 | - | 4.6 | 4.1 | - | 4.1 |
| Cotton | 2.4 | 2.1 | 4.5 | |||||||||
| Other | 5.0 | - | 5.0 | 1.2 | - | 1.2 | 1.6 | - | 1.6 | 3.6 | - | 3.6 |
| Total Crops (tons) |
696.9 | 176.4 | 873.3 | 402.3 | 102.1 | 504.4 | 514.6 | 29.4 | 544.0 | 429.2 | 30.3 | 459.5 |
| Sugarcane (tons) | 2,226.2 | - | 2,226.2 | 1.965,4 | - | 1.965,4 | 1,723.0 | - | 1,723.0 | 906.8 | - | 906.8 |
| Cattle herd | 19.3 | - | 19.3 | 9.4 | - | 9.4 | 13.3 | - | 13.3 | 6.9 | - | 6.9 |
| Milking cows | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1.5 | - | 1.5 | 1.1 | - | 1.1 |
| Cattle (tons) | 19.3 | - | 19.3 | 9.4 | - | 9.4 | 14.8 | - | 14.8 | 8.0 | - | 8.0 |
| Milk (in th of liters) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3.9 | - | 3.9 | 13.3 | - | 13.3 |
1) Domestic Market.
2) Foreign Market.
3) Includes Brasilagro, CRESCA at 50%, Acres del Sud, Ombú, Yatay and Yuchán. Excludes Agro-Uranga.
The following table shows the sown surface area assigned to crop production, classified into own, under lease, under concession and leased to third parties for the fiscal years indicated below, measured in hectares:
| 2020(1) | 2019(1) | 2018(1) | 2017(1) | |
| Own | 105,799 | 94,062 | 102,448 | 102,683 |
| Under lease | 138,867 | 135,955 | 72,688 | 71,481 |
| Under concession | 26,409 | 18,638 | 24,244 | 22,454 |
| Leased to third parties | 13,837 | 14,325 | 9,533 | 7,663 |
| Total | 284,912 | 262,980 | 208,913 | 204,280 |
1) Includes double crops, all farms in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil, and Agro-Uranga (Subsidiary – 35.72%).
| Stock (in tons) | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | Variation |
| Corn | 60,294 | 77,216 | -21.9% |
| Soybean | 108,171 | 174,575 | -38.0% |
| Sunflower | 87 | 6,187 | -98.6% |
| Sorghum | 527 | 443 | 19.0% |
| Beans | 2,535 | - | - |
| Wheat | 1,076 | 2,516 | -57.2% |
| Sugarcane | 5,865 | 485 | 1,109.3% |
| Cotton | 1,130 | 1,586 | -28.8% |
| Other | 1,230 | 3,704 | -66.8% |
| Total | 180,915 | 266,712 | -32.2% |
We seek to diversify our mix of products and the geographic location of our farmlands to achieve an adequate balance between the two principal risks associated with our activities: weather conditions and the fluctuations in the prices of commodities. In order to reduce such risks, we own and lease land in several areas of Argentina with different climate conditions that allow us to sow a diversified range of products. Our leased land for crops is mostly located in the Pampas region, a favorable area for crop production. The leased farms are previously studied by technicians who analyze future production expectations based on the historic use of the land. The initial duration of lease agreements is typically one or three seasons. Leases of farms for production of crops generally consist of lease agreements with payments based on a fixed amount of Pesos per hectare or sharecropping agreements with payments in kind based on a percentage of the crops obtained or a fixed amount of tons of crops obtained or their equivalent value in Pesos. The principal advantage of leasing farms is that leases do not require us to commit large amounts of capital to the acquisition of lands but allow us to increase our scale in the short term and reduce the risk of inclement weather. The disadvantage of this strategy is that the cost of leasing can increase over time, in part, because increased demand for leased land increases the price of leased land.
In order to increase our production yields, we use, besides state-of-the-art technology, labor control methods which imply the supervision of the seeding´s quality (density, fertilization, distribution, and depth), crop monitoring (determination of natural losses and losses caused by harvester) and verification of bagged crop quality. In this way, we work jointly with our suppliers to achieve the best management of inputs, water and soil.
Wheat seeding takes place from June to August, and harvesting takes place from December to January. Corn, soybean and sunflower are sown from September to December and are harvested from February to August. Crops are available to be sold as commodities after the harvest from December to June and we usually store part of our production until prices recover after the drop that normally takes place during the harvesting season. A major part of production, especially soybean, wheat, corn and sorghum, is sold and delivered to buyers pursuant to agreements in which price conditions are fixed by reference to the market price at a specific time in the future that we determine. The rest of the production is either sold at current market prices or delivered to cover any futures contract that we may have entered into.
AgroUranga S.A.
We have a 35.72% interest in Agro-Uranga S.A. ("Agro-Uranga"). This company optimizes production processes and attains excellent results, with special emphasis in soil conservation, the application of rational techniques and care of the environment.
At present, with the assistance of its foreign trade team it is seeking to develop new products so as to significantly increase export volumes, encouraged by the world´s growing demand.