BrasilAgro revealed it was to accelerate the growth in its planting to 40%, taking 2010-11 sowings to 65,000 hectares, even as the Brazilian farm operator revealed it had fallen into a fourth quarter loss.

Most of the expansion will be accounted for by grains – the key earner, including crops such as corn, rice and soybeans - and forestry, which between them accounted for about 80% of sowings in 2009-10.

However, the group will also extend its expansion into sugar cane, of which it started its first significant supplies in the April-to-June quarter, taking revenues of R$6.7m ($3.9m).

It is also grow its pasture operations, after beginning a cattle project at its Preferência Farm in eastern Brazil.

Nonetheless, BrasilAgro will be left with substantial land still to develop, with the company's total holding hitting 174,840 hectares, of which all but 3,000 hectares is wholly owned by the group.

Into the red 

The company revealed its planting plans as it unveiled an after-tax loss of R$15.1m for the quarter, compared with earnings of R$2.0m a year before.

The slip into the red, further than the R$6.5m that analysts had expected, reflected in part growth in personnel costs prompted by the group's expansion.

The company also flagged a jump in depreciation stemming from purchases of seed drills and cane harvesters, and an impairment charge taken on a sugar investment.

Revenues fell 7.1% to R$18.7m, with the group deciding not to sell its entire 2009-10 crop by the end of June. BrasilAgro noted that soybean prices at its Cremaq Farm, also in eastern Brazil, had risen by 30% since the end of harvest.

BrasilAgro shares stood 0.5% lower at R$9.75 in afternoon trade in Sao Paolo.