Hydrological excess in Buenos Aires: INTA’s warning

Through a recent report, the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (**INTA**) warned about the **excess of water in Buenos Aires**.

“About two million hectares of livestock and agricultural land **are under water in 13 districts** according to a survey conducted for the Confederation of **Rural Associations of Buenos Aires and La Pampa (Carbap)** based on satellite images,” the organization alerted.

Of this total, more than **500,000 hectares are completely flooded** and approximately 1,450,000 are waterlogged.

### Water excess in Buenos Aires: affected districts

The affected districts, to varying degrees, are:

– Olavarría
– Azul
– Benito Juárez
– Laprida
– General La Madrid
– Puán
– Tornquist
– Bahía Blanca
– Coronel Rosales
– Guaminí
– Adolfo Alsina
– Coronel Suárez
– Pringles

It is worth noting that these conditions occur at a highly critical time for **agricultural activities**.


Similarly, it is the time for **sowing green crops and pastures**, or they are in early stages of implantation or development.

The report prepared by INTA listed a series of guidelines for producers to consider in these contexts of abundant [**precipitations and complications**](http://Consideraciones a tener en cuenta Es imprescindible tener una idea lo más afinada posible sobre el balance forrajero de los próximos meses. Para ello, deben realizarse las siguientes acciones: » Evaluar la gravedad de la inundación, su posible duración y la posición del campo en el relieve general. » Determinar el stock actual de pasto, esto es cuanto forraje disponible hay en cada uno de los potreros factibles de ser pastoreados o no anegados. Esto puede realizarse mediante estimación visual, y/o cortando algunas muestras y al menos pesarlas en verde. También existen herramientas digitales que pueden ayudar a estimar el forraje disponible. » Estimar, la productividad de dichos recursos para los próximos meses. Para esto pueden ser de ayuda las guías desarrolladas por INTA y/o herramientas como la APP gestión del pasto. » Conocer la demanda de tu rodeo para los próximos meses en base a las existencias de las distintas categorías y contrastarla con la oferta forrajera actual y a corto plazo. Una vez que se conoce, aunque de forma grosera, el balance forrajero, podrá actuarse en cada uno de sus componentes, la oferta y la demanda.).

## INTA’s recommendations

The organization highlighted in the issued document some considerations to take into account in these cases:

– Evaluate the **severity of the flooding**, its possible duration, and the field’s position in the general relief.
– Determine the **current pasture stock**, that is, how much available forage is in each of the paddocks feasible for grazing or not flooded. This can be done through visual estimation, and/or cutting some samples and at least weighing them green. There are also digital tools that can help estimate available forage.
– Estimate the **productivity of these resources for the coming months**. For this, guides developed by INTA and tools like the pasture management APP can be helpful.
– Know the demand of the herd for the coming months, based on the stocks of the different categories and contrast it with the current and short-term forage supply.

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