The history of Sementes and Cabanha Butia started in 1950, with the family patriarch Pedro Bertagnolli, in Butiá Grande, which is 80 km from Coxilha, in the region of the north of Rio Grande do Sul. The name came out because of the great number of Butiá Trees (species of coconut-tree) in the region.
Pedro Bertagnolli - who used to live in Gaurama, would go to Coxilha by train and from there he walked 18 km to the farm - and his partners Amandio Sperb and João Bonilla decided to plant wheat in the region, in an area of about 400 hectares . The wheat crops promised profit and a better life, in spite of the distance from Gaurama do the fields of Butiá. There was no infra-structure, limited knowledge, but the first results were rewarding, what made the dreams of earning from a piece of land, which responded to the expectations, increase. During the l951 and l952 there were two good wheat harvests from Fontana variety. Pedro was a pioneer in producing wheat and introducing machinery in the south of the country.
In 1953 and 1954 the harvests were very good as the climatic conditions were not favourable and they had great losses. Far from Gaurama, Pedro Bertagnolli still believed in a better year. He was wrong. In l955, the late frost reduced the whole crops in RS and Butiá was not an exception. In that year, 1.220 bags of wheat were planted, but the harvest produced just 1.000 bags.
Controlling expenses, as the only profitable activity was the production of wheat, Pedro Bertagnolli reduced the planting area and bet in the cultivation of soybean, with the variety of "Amarelo Riograndense". With the diversification, from 1957 onwards, the costs were divided between the winter and summer cultivation.
During the 60s and 70s, the wheat became not profitable and the monoculture of soybean started its sovereign cycle, therefore 80% of Butia area is covered with soybean. The soy allows investments in the structure of the farm itself to be made and the increasing of the planted area, reaching new productivity records, year after year, making use of the technology available.
From 1978, Sementes e Cabanha Butiá starts the cycle of producing soy and wheat seeds. Always betting in re-investing, the production was increasing year after year. At that time, the no-tillage system starts to be used with the rotation of crops, a technique which has given conditions to preserve and improve the physical, chemical and biological soil conditions. Nowadays, the whole area of Butiá is cultivated using this system.
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