Soy bean harvest on Fazenda Aeroporto, a farm just west of Sinop of 8550 hectares. This area of the Amazon is known as the Cerrrado or "closed" in Portuguese and is a transition zone from tropical rainforest to savannah that is rapidly being converted into large scale farms that harvest soybeans in Jan/Feb and corn in May/June. The double harvest is possible due to fertile soil that requires no irrigation, and it has led to a rapid conversion of virgin forest to farmland. This fazenda was experimenting with planting two crops of soybeans in the same year, instead of one soy and one corn. Soybeans are the most profitable crop they have. The farm here was bordered by a river, and Brazilian law requires a forest buffer zone along all watersheds. The harvesting combines work from about 10AM into the night, as long as the ground is dry enough and the crops are not laden with dew.
