Management of rural property by field plots

Abstract

Managing a rural property is not an easy task, it requires knowledge, skill, organization, work, commitment, and routine. Some producers, even having purchased a management system, end up giving up using it after a short period of time. Based on this context, a rural producer invited researchers to set up an integrated, easy-to-understand and personalized management system for his property, with the aim at bringing only important questions for decision-making and, mainly, the comparative historical bases of production costs between crop seasons, plots, and crops. The objective of this research was to present a management tool that was developed to assist in the management of a rural property, with analysis of production costs per plot. The tool allows of important comparisons to understand which decision should be taken and, mainly, which plots need a certain management, in order to achieve the best results. A qualitative methodology of a descriptive nature was applied, through an action research, to a case study with a grain producer in the municipality of Cruz Alta, northwest region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The practical and personalized system was developed based on the cost-volume-profit methodology, and the main results were efficiency and agility in the releases, organization and results of costs by plots, identification of the break-even point in bags, and reports that contribute to decision making.