Article summary: Expointer (Esteio, Rio Grande do Sul, 30 Aug to 7 Sep 2025) is an ideal “event lens” for pasture-fed beef, dairy, and sheep systems. This guide keeps things practical: the grazing and forage ideas worth stealing, the questions to ask exhibitors, what’s different in Brazil (and what still applies), and how satellite pasture measurement can tighten decision loops on big grazing platforms.
Expointer 2025 runs from 30 August to 7 September at the Parque de Exposições Assis Brasil in Esteio, Rio Grande do Sul. If you farm pasture, it’s a rare chance to see what works at scale in a region that spans temperate-to-subtropical grazing conditions.
The trick is not to treat it like a shopping trip. Treat it like a systems audit.
Go hunting for constraints, not shiny gear
Before you walk through the gates, decide which constraint is actually costing you money this season:
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Pasture utilisation (uneven grazing, missed residuals, feed wasted)
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Forage planning (gaps, overgrazing recovery, not enough saved feed)
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Water (limits where you can graze, camping, long walks)
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Genetics not expressing (nutrition and management not matching ambition)
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Labour and time (too hard to do the “right” thing consistently)
If you keep that one constraint front-of-mind, you’ll spot the right exhibitors fast.
1) Rotational grazing: look for anything that makes good grazing easier to execute
What to look for
You’re not buying fencing. You’re buying the ability to allocate feed cleanly, hit residuals, and keep stock calm.
Look for:
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Practical subdivision layouts (real farm shapes, real gateways, real water points)
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Temporary fencing systems designed for speed (reels, posts, power, corners)
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Setups that reduce “walking and re-walking” (fewer resets, fewer tangles)
What to ask
“What does a normal move look like on a wet, rushed day, and what’s the failure point?”
What translates globally
If it reduces friction, it improves consistency. Consistency is what compounds: better residuals, faster regrowth, fewer emergency decisions.
2) Forage planning: aim for reliability first, not peak growth
What to look for
In pasture systems, the best forage plan is one you can repeat in different seasons. At Expointer, pay attention to how people manage feed gaps, not just how they chase yield.
Look for:
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Clear approaches to bridging feed gaps (winter annuals, warm-season options, conserved feed)
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Establishment and renovation methods that suit grazing pressure (not just cropping logic)
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Tools and services that shorten the “time to feed” after planting or renovation
What to ask
“What’s your most common establishment mistake, and what does it cost in lost grazing days?”
What translates globally
Feed planning always comes back to the same loop: grow feed, allocate feed, recover pasture, repeat. The species change, the loop doesn’t.
3) Water systems: the upgrade that quietly unlocks better grazing everywhere
What to look for
Water often decides where you can graze, how evenly stock graze, and how much pasture you waste around camps.
Look for:
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Trough placement logic (not just trough specs)
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Pipe, pump and pressure setups designed for expansion (more paddocks, more mobs)
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Systems that are easy to maintain with basic parts and basic skills
What to ask
“If a float fails on a Sunday, what happens next, and how quickly can I fix it?”
What translates globally
Water reliability is decision freedom. It lets you graze where the pasture says you should, not where the trough happens to be.
4) Genetics: don’t buy performance you can’t feed
What to look for
Expointer showcases a wide range of livestock genetics. The smart move is to link genetics to the feed system you can actually deliver.
Look for:
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Genetics selected for functional performance in pasture systems (fertility, resilience, structural soundness)
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Clear selection objectives (what they’re trying to improve, and what they’re willing to trade off)
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Evidence of performance under grazing, not only in higher-input environments
What to ask
“What feed level is assumed for these animals to hit their targets, and what happens when feed tightens?”
What translates globally
The principle is universal: the return on genetics is capped by nutrition and management.
5) Efficiency upgrades: anything that reduces labour per grazing decision
What to look for
Efficiency is not about doing more. It’s about making the right action easier than the wrong one.
Look for:
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Handling and weighing workflows that encourage frequent measurement (not occasional chaos)
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EID and drafting options that reduce rework and mistakes
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Yard, laneway and gateway ideas that reduce time and animal stress
What to ask
“How does this change my weekly routine, and what gets easier immediately?”
What translates globally
Less labour per decision means more decisions get made on time. That’s where performance lifts show up.
Questions to ask exhibitors (take this on your phone)
Use these to cut through marketing and get to operational truth:
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What maintenance is required, and what breaks first?
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What are the common failure modes in the field?
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What spare parts are essential and how quickly can you supply them?
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How does this reduce labour in a normal week?
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What should I measure in 30 days to prove ROI?
What’s different in Brazil, and what still applies globally
What’s different
Southern Brazil includes the Pampa biome and a subtropical climate with defined seasons, where pasture production can swing with seasonal conditions and year-to-year variation. In Rio Grande do Sul, you’ll see grazing systems that blend native grasslands with improved forages and, in some systems, integration with cropping.
You’ll also hear plenty about forages that suit the region’s winter feed push, including combinations like oats and annual ryegrass, and legumes such as white clover in some systems. Across Brazil more broadly, warm-season grasses like Brachiaria and Panicum are widely used in many regions, even if you see more cool-season focus in the south.
What still applies globally
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Rotation discipline beats “best guess” grazing
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Water placement drives utilisation
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Genetics only pay when the feed system supports the target
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Measuring regularly is what prevents overcorrections
Pasture.io tie-in: satellite pasture measurement for bigger grazing platforms
The larger the grazing platform, the harder it is to keep your decision loop tight. You’re making high-stakes calls across more paddocks, more mobs, and more variability.
Satellite pasture measurement helps because it scales the basics:
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Paddock-by-paddock cover to reduce guesswork
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A feed wedge to make “where next” obvious
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Weekly trendlines so you catch drift early, not late
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Growth vs demand to sanity-check whether the plan is sustainable
A simple weekly workflow in Pasture.io:
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Update paddock covers (satellite plus any ground truth you trust)
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Build a feed wedge to rank paddocks for the week
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Check your average cover trend and growth vs demand
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Adjust one lever (rotation speed first, then supplement, then demand)
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Repeat next week and watch the trend, not the drama
The takeaway
If you walk into Expointer with one constraint in mind and a few sharp questions, you’ll come home with changes that actually translate to your farm: better allocation, better utilisation, better feed planning, and fewer emergency decisions. And if you’re running scale, tightening the measurement loop is usually the fastest path to better grazing outcomes.
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-09-02