Why agriculture in South America is not as efficient in the US?

Question

Does factors as technology, accesibility (many machines can't work in some places of south america)

Answer 1

In some parts of South America agriculture is every bit as efficient as in the US.  It depends on a lot of factors.  Economics of the farmers has a lot to do with the technology available.  Also the political environment can have a lot to do with agriculture efficiency or even the incentive to produce.  The land and rainfall has much to do with the ability to have successful agriculture production.  In the US there are many areas that cannot produce  crops efficiently or at all.  So comparing agriculture in one country or area to another it is not really a valid comparison unless all things are taken into consideration.

Answer 2

A lot of the mechanization isn't as availabe to South america that it is in North america. A lot of product spoils before it gets to market. Just a poorer economy can't function as smoothly for the most part.

Answer 3

Argentina is even more efficient than the US, just look at the stats.

Argentine farmers do not recieve any subsidies and they pay around 70% of their income in taxes, and, still, they obtain record productions every year.

Answer 4

Where in South America?  Are you talking about savannahs, or rainforest, or?

Might be interesting to contrast and compare :

Mechanization

Fertilization

Pesticide use

General (base) soil fertility

Climate

Crop Genetics

Average Farm size

Answer 5

One huge factor that makes the U.S. a great place for the cultivation of crops (corn, wheat, etc) is te Great Plains.

In the U.S., the major region for growing crops is the Great Plains. The Great Plains unlike most large crop areas run north to south - other countries have similar amounts of crop acres, but there's are spread out or run east to west. Crop harvesting requires lots and lots of people and equipment. In the U.S., harvest starts earlier in the South and moves northward as crops become ready. This allows for fewer people and fewer machines to do the jobs - many farmhands start their season in the south and move northward with the harvesting.

Answer 6

hotter summers,colder winters and no money to buy fertilizer and mechanical aids.

Answer 7

ive read that brazil is more efficient than the u.s.

there are million acre farms.

they have all of the technology that we have

they sometimes substitute with smaller low end machinery because labor is cheap.  

foreign investors provide all of the money needed

some american farmers are diversifying by starting farms in south america.

the climate is like a green house

land is cheap

the biggest obsticle is transportation but its being improved rapidly. they are using the amazon like we use the mississippi except the amazon is bigger and deeper allowing larger barges.  the railway they are building will use trains that are much larger than ours.

Answer 8

South america is not as efficient because of technology,and a varieance of temperature,water supply is not as efficient and they dont have the finacing available to get equipment needed to make and harvest a crop properly.  plus the local farmers dont have the education available that we have here in the USA

Answer 9

I have been to Brasil 8 times The biggest problem Brasil has with their growing is getting it out of the farm land and into the many ports or airlines for distribution. THE RAIL SYSTEM IF ANY IS ALMOST NIL. Brasil is larger the the Continental U.S.. What transportation there is is done by trucks and most of the roads are horrific. I travelled by car from Sao Paulo to the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sol and only saw one rail line that travelled to the northern shipping ports. I think in Sao Paulo we crossed one rail road crossing. Brasil could become the Bread Basket for the world without destroying any of the Rainforest. They have the capability for labor,climate and knowledge to compete with the world. It won't happen over night. We drove for hours and all we saw was Sugar Cane Fields for miles upon miles. Talk about being able to develop Bio- diesel refineries. Right now the alcohol is being used to make "Capirinas"  Brazilian national drink. There's an awful lot of coffee in Brasil, as well as bananas, oranges and tons of other food. Cattle farming, dairy and beef are very large and they have to get the dairy and beef to market and fast. If you can't get it to market why grow it. More than two thirds of Brasil is tropical or subtropical There is only a couple of the states in the south with any winter.  I would think the same for the other parts of South America. I think Bolivia and Paraguay are the only two countries without a coast line. The back bone (Andes Mt. Range) hinders some growing. I would imagine there is coffee to be grown in the mountains