Agribusiness in Barro Alto: rubber, sugarcane and cattle

Before nickel, Barro Alto was already a land of crops and cattle — and it still is. The latest data from IBGE (Brazil’s national statistics institute; Municipal Agricultural and Livestock Production, 2025) show a diversified farm sector, with a feature that is rare in Goiás: natural rubber.

Natural rubber: number 1 in Goiás

• 7,400 tonnes of coagulated latex in 2025, from 2,000 hectares harvested;
• about 18% of all production in Goiás, ahead of Vila Propício (5,274 t) and Santa Rita do Novo Destino (4,450 t) — both neighbouring municipalities.

Together with neighbouring municipalities, the rubber plantations form one of the state’s main rubber hubs. The coagulated latex goes to processing plants and then to the tyre and rubber goods industry.

Crops

In 2025, temporary crops covered 20,357 hectares planted:

Sugarcane supplies sugar and bioenergy mills in the region, some of which draw water from nearby rivers, according to the Anglo American environmental study (2020). There are also bananas (158 t in 2025).

Livestock

Beef cattle ranching is a local tradition — and it shows up in the festivals: horseback rides (cavalgadas), rodeo and the ExpoAgro. The Barro Alto Rural Union (Sindicato Rural) is active in organising events such as the Cavalgada Amigos do Estradão.

For farmers

• Public technical assistance: Emater-GO; animal and plant health protection: Agrodefesa.
• Farm supplies, veterinary services and machinery: see the business directory — Farming.