Couple leaves the pickle business and becomes a powerhouse in Dona Ema: from 600 plants to 30,000 vegetables per month, with 2.5 hectares, guaranteed market, and production that already supplies school meals and greengrocers.

Written by Carla Teles

Published on 15/04/2026 at 22:58

Be the first to react!

In Dona Ema, couple exchanges cucumber for vegetables, ensures market, and already delivers for school meals, greengrocers, and market.

The couple Luís and Luana started planting in 2020, on a plot near the center of Dona Ema, and increased production as demand grew. What began as a small cultivation turned into a well-divided farming routine, with technical assistance and a focus on vegetables that have a market year-round.

Today, the couple primarily produces cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage and claims to have reached about 30,000 per month. The decision to change what they planted was not due to trends, but strategy: they chose a path with more viable investment and a market ready to buy.

From summer cucumber to cultivation that doesn’t stop in winter

Initially, Luís and Luana planted cucumber, a crop linked to the summer harvest. Over time, the practical question arose: what to produce in winter? The answer was cauliflower, first in a smaller volume.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

2.5 hectares and guaranteed market for everything that comes from the farm

Couple from Dona Ema moves away from cucumber, grows with vegetables, and supplies school meals with a guaranteed market.

The cultivated area is about 2.5 hectares in Dona Ema. And one point stands out: the production already has a certain destination. According to reports, part goes to school meals, part to greengrocers, and a portion to the market.

When sales are predictable, planning changes. Instead of planting in the dark, the couple can adjust volume, cutting rhythm, and work organization based on real demand.

Technical assistance and division of labor in practice

To start and maintain production, the couple states that they needed support, especially from a technician who provides assistance to this day. They say that when doubts arise, they send a message and receive guidance.

In the routine, the work is divided. Luís reports that he takes care of stages such as sowing, planting, and harvesting, while the rest is handled by Luana, including the more constant daily care. In summer periods, the pace requires quick attention after planting, especially to prevent the heat from burning the seedlings.

Water, fertilization, and care in the formation of vegetables

The couple also describes critical points of management: irrigation right after planting, fertilization, pesticides, and the care with lack of water, especially during the head formation phase of the vegetables.

It is a production that depends on sequence and consistency. If the cycle fails at one point, the loss appears in the harvest and delivery.

Feet on the ground and plans for the future

Although they are considering increasing the area, they reflect that, since there are only two of them, an expansion would require hiring someone. Therefore, they prefer to maintain the current size and grow cautiously, without losing control of the process.

Do you think that this type of growth, with a guaranteed market and production gradually scaling, is the safest path for small producers today?

Couple leaves the pickle business and becomes a powerhouse in Dona Ema: from 600 plants to 30,000 vegetables per month, with 2.5 hectares, guaranteed market, and production that already supplies school meals and greengrocers.

In Dona Ema, couple exchanges cucumber for vegetables, ensures market, and already delivers for school meals, greengrocers, and market.

From summer cucumber to cultivation that doesn’t stop in winter

2.5 hectares and guaranteed market for everything that comes from the farm

Technical assistance and division of labor in practice

Water, fertilization, and care in the formation of vegetables

Feet on the ground and plans for the future

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

The race of humanoid robots in factories has truly begun, Hyundai announced that it will deploy more than 25,000 units of Atlas in its production lines starting in 2028, in a partnership that involves Boston Dynamics and training with Google DeepMind.

After nearly three decades and more than 1 million cars produced, Toyota will close the historic Indaiatuba plant on June 30 and concentrate Corolla production in Sorocaba, as part of an R$ 11 billion plan that heavily invests in flex hybrids and even an unprecedented pickup.

The number of Brazilian meatpacking plants with suspended meat sales to China rises to five, after the Chinese blocked the JBS unit in Vilhena due to the presence of hormones in the shipments, adding extra pressure on the sector on the eve of the 2026 export quota being exhausted.

How much does it cost to live with dignity in Brazil? A study found that in all 79 regions analyzed, the necessary salary was above the minimum of R$ 1,621. In São Paulo, a family of four needs R$ 6,155 per month.

Couple leaves the pickle business and becomes a powerhouse in Dona Ema: from 600 plants to 30,000 vegetables per month, with 2.5 hectares, guaranteed market, and production that already supplies school meals and greengrocers.

In Dona Ema, couple exchanges cucumber for vegetables, ensures market, and already delivers for school meals, greengrocers, and market.

From summer cucumber to cultivation that doesn’t stop in winter

2.5 hectares and guaranteed market for everything that comes from the farm

Technical assistance and division of labor in practice

Water, fertilization, and care in the formation of vegetables

Feet on the ground and plans for the future

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

Imagine raising tons of fish in the middle of the sea using only a cell phone. This is what’s happening in Fuzhou, China, where zero-carbon smart platforms already produce more than 2,200 tons of seafood per year and are expected to reach 15 units.

Brazil prepares for a record coffee export with 50 million bags, a historic harvest, and low global stocks, but El Niño threatens the flowering and could change prices, sales, and supply amid the international market race.

Starting from December 2026, Europe tightens restrictions on soy, meat, and coffee from Brazil and requires traceability to the origin, creating a “green passport” that may determine which farms, slaughterhouses, and exporters will still be able to sell to the European bloc.

China is depleting Brazil’s donkeys: animals sold for up to R$ 10 in Ceará become a R$ 1,500 product in Asia, while the population plummets by 94%.

Bacterial disease already affects almost half of the Brazilian citrus belt, causes losses of US$ 120 million per year, deforms green oranges, and threatens the country that dominates the global orange juice market while the US and Europe increasingly depend on Brazil.

The race of humanoid robots in factories has truly begun, Hyundai announced that it will deploy more than 25,000 units of Atlas in its production lines starting in 2028, in a partnership that involves Boston Dynamics and training with Google DeepMind.

After nearly three decades and more than 1 million cars produced, Toyota will close the historic Indaiatuba plant on June 30 and concentrate Corolla production in Sorocaba, as part of an R$ 11 billion plan that heavily invests in flex hybrids and even an unprecedented pickup.

The number of Brazilian meatpacking plants with suspended meat sales to China rises to five, after the Chinese blocked the JBS unit in Vilhena due to the presence of hormones in the shipments, adding extra pressure on the sector on the eve of the 2026 export quota being exhausted.

How much does it cost to live with dignity in Brazil? A study found that in all 79 regions analyzed, the necessary salary was above the minimum of R$ 1,621. In São Paulo, a family of four needs R$ 6,155 per month.