EN 
PT_BR 
The 2nd edition of the +Palhada +Soja Field Day brought together more than 200 people, including rural producers, consultants, students and partners, at Agrícola Invernadinha, in Paraíso do Tocantins (TO), last Monday (04). Promoted by Embrapa in partnership with Agrícola Invernadinha, Conservation International (CI Brasil) and Sebrae, with support from the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock of Tocantins (Seagro) and the Association of Soybean and Corn Producers of Tocantins (Aprosoja Tocantins), the event presented solutions for sustainable soil management in the region.
The focus was on cover crops, high-performance sorghum cultivars, and the care of petric plinthosol, a type of soil with a high concentration of gravel and stones that occupies approximately 201% of the state's territory.
The technical program included five field stations and two lectures: one from Sebrae, on professional management of rural properties, and another from Embrapa, on petric plinthosol and cover crop management. At the stations, the companies Advanta, Oilema, and Brevante presented sorghum cultivars recommended for the region. Mosaic addressed the current fertilizer scenario and new technologies for greater efficiency. Agrícola Invernadinha itself conducted a station on the evolution of the management adopted on the farm, from soil preparation to the use of cover crop mixes.
At the helm of Agrícola Invernadinha, rural producer Caroline Vilela explained that the event grows each year and already reflects almost a decade of investment in cover crops. “For eight years we have been promoting the use of cover crops in the soil, whether intercropped with corn or in a window where corn doesn't grow,” she said. For her, the practice responds to a concrete need in Tocantins agriculture. “Our state has very technical soil conditions and a very adverse climate. Soil cover allows us to have a safer planting than when we keep the soil without mulch,” she said.
The Embrapa researcher Rodrigo MunhozOne of the event's organizers and a soil specialist, highlighted the importance of providing producers with information on how to manage a soil that is still little known but has potential for grain production. For him, the event is also a showcase of Embrapa's leading role in developing agriculture adapted to the tropical climate. "We are publicizing the importance of cover crops to protect this soil, to cycle nutrients, to improve organic matter, to improve the life and biology of this soil, and all of this has already been scientifically proven to be the best way to provide resilience and sustainability for agriculture in this tropical region," he stated.
Partner perspective
Matheus Leal, from CI Brasil, described the initiative as an opportunity to bring producers closer to sustainable agricultural practices. "The main objective is precisely to expose producers to these practices, what we call sustainable, intelligent, or regenerative agriculture, which is nothing more than efficient agriculture," he emphasized.
Along the same lines, the regional manager of Sebrae Tocantins, Millena Lima, highlighted the convergence between the event's purpose and the institution's role. "Actions like this field day align with what we do, providing guidance and information. It's no use having high productivity without proper farm management," she emphasized.
For those who attended the event, the impressions were positive. Consultant Rafael da Cruz highlighted the importance of working with plinthosols: "The more we learn to deal with this type of soil, the more we will contribute to producers in fostering productivity," he emphasized.
Farmer Julio Cesar Kreuscher summed up the experience directly: "It's an event that's really worth participating in, because we can learn a little more about our soil, the raw material of our work," he praised.
