b'BRAZIL PROJECTED TO OUTPACE OTHER TOP BEEF EXPORTERSThousand metric tons14,00012,00010,000Rest of World8,0006,000 Brazil4,000 IndiaAustralia2,000USA New Zealand02000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, Baseline Projections to 2028 data.family-based companies that are regional or national in scope.Introducing New Technology and New IdeasThe industry has not drawn for the most part the focus of theOne way purity has been increasing, says Nicolayevsky, is big seed companies but that is changing as the market becomesthrough new technology to help harvest tropical pasture seed.more professional and opportunities arise with the introductionWhen first introduced, the initial way to harvest tropi-of novel varieties with unique traits. cal grasses harbored from the ground. Meaning, youd get an The difficulty comes from regulatory issues. To really getadverse reaction in quality and purity due to picking up inner larger companies investing in tropical pastures, the industrymatter dirt. needs to become more respectable in terms of quality controls,Over the last decade, ground harvesting has improved, export requirements and intellectual property, Nicolayevsky says.Nicolayevsky says. Youre getting better quality of seed. In addi-Quality control, in particular, has been noted as a major issuetion, theres changing legislation in Brazil.in tropical pasture seed.Before the 60% purity requirement, seed quality and purity Peixoto says the main breeding programs of tropical pasturecould be as low as 20-40%. Currently, legislation is being drafted seed are focusing on earlier production, foliage production,for a minimum of an 80% purity requirement for tropical pasture disease resistance and pest resistance. However, that leaves outseed. seed quality. In addition, Peixoto says companies are working on introduc-If the seed doesnt germinate, the product wont be interest- ing new technologies into the market for tropical pasture seed, ing or beneficial to the farm, he says.such as seed coatings and treated seed, to raise the germination In addition, impure seed proves as a challenge. and seed quality standard.Regulations in Brazil isnt that strong for seed quality,We are looking to bring in seed technologies related to Peixoto says. In the case of Brachiaria, the law permits theenhancements, he says. That means insecticides, fungicides, seed to be commercialized with only 60% purity. Then you havenematicides, biological seed treatment and more. This will pro-another 40% that can be soil, stones or a different material. vide more protection during seed sowing in the field.In addition, the question of germination comes into play again. Barenbrug is also looking into better tropical seed quality to When you consider only 60% of the seed, you also havemeet better standards for germination as well. seed that wont germinate, he says. In general, you have a 20-30% germination rate in a bag of 25 kilos of seed, but its notHybridization Could Be Keyreally 100% seed inside. According to Eckles, three Brachiaria varieties introduced However, both Nicolayevsky and Peixoto say that times are50-plus years ago still represent 75-80% of annual seed sales, changing around tropical pasture seed. but cross-breeding is now possible and hybrids that contain DECEMBER 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /85'