Portuguese 
The smallholder who purchases corn from Conab to feed his own livestock has just gained five times more space. An interministerial ordinance expanded the volume available for the Sales Program from 50,000 to 260,000 tons, and the change was announced on September 4, 2026.
The increase is 210,000 tons in absolute numbers.
The regulation that authorized the increase is Interministerial Ordinance No. 47, dated August 26, 2026, and the authorization is valid until December 31, 2026.
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What selling at the counter means and why it matters to smallholders
The program’s name describes exactly what it does, and the difference from traditional auctions is significant.
Instead of operating through large batches aimed at industries and grain traders, counter sales allow small producers to purchase volumes that match the size of their livestock, without relying on middlemen or storage facilities.
It is the corn that becomes feed for chickens, pigs, dairy cattle, and fish on the family farm.
Who can buy: two possible criteria, only one needs to be met
The definition of the eligible audience is outlined in the ordinance and is straightforward.
Eligible are small livestock farmers with an active registration in the National Family Farming Register or those operating a rural property of up to ten fiscal modules, which opens the door for those who do not yet have registration but comply based on land size.
Cooperatives and associations in family farming are also included.
It is worth noting that the fiscal module varies from municipality to municipality, so ten modules can correspond to very different areas depending on the region of the country.
The expansion is tied to a provisional measure and R$ 849 million
The ordinance does not stand alone, and understanding the package helps contextualize the decision.
The increase in volume is linked to Provisional Measure 1.384/2026 and financing of R$ 849 million aimed at mitigating the effects of El Niño on production.
That is, this is not a routine stock adjustment, but a response to a climatic event that affected the supply and price of the grain.
Why corn is a bottleneck for smallholders
This is why this news matters to those who have never heard of ProVB.
Feed accounts for the largest share of production costs in raising poultry, pigs, and fish, and corn is the main component of that feed, meaning any fluctuation in the grain’s price directly impacts the margins for producers.
When corn prices rise, smallholders have nowhere to pass the costs on to. They absorb the increase.
What Conab did not disclose and cannot be filled with estimates
It is important to be transparent about the limits of the available information.
The announcement does not provide the selling price of corn at the counter, nor the maximum limit per buyer, nor how many producers have been served so far and in which states, which are the very questions producers ask first.
I prefer to say that the information does not exist in the source rather than guess a number that the reader would take as certain.
Those who need these values should contact the regional superintendency of Conab in their own state.
Five times more volume does not mean five times more producers served
This is a reading caveat that is worth making honestly.
The increase authorizes the purchase of up to 260,000 tons, which is a ceiling and not guaranteed execution, and the amount actually purchased depends on the availability of public stock, distribution logistics, and actual demand at sales points.
Authorized ceiling and delivered grain are different things, and the difference between the two usually only appears in the end-of-year balance sheet.
Public stock exists precisely for moments like this
The program depends on a mechanism that usually remains invisible when everything is going well.
Conab maintains public grain stocks formed during periods of abundant supply, and it is from this stock that the product sold at retail emerges when supply tightens, so the government buys in abundance and returns to the market during shortages.
Without accumulated stock beforehand, no ordinance would be able to increase any volume now.
That’s why the discussion about stock policy, which may seem bureaucratic, shows up in the feed costs months later.
The deadline until December places the decision within the off-season
The authorization calendar is not random.
The validity until December 31, 2026 covers precisely the period when stock on the property tends to run low and the price of grain in the market tends to react, which is when small producers are more exposed.
It is during this interval that the existence of a direct purchasing channel weighs more on the pocket.
It is also worth noting who is excluded from this policy, as the cutoff is deliberately narrow.
The program was designed for the producer who consumes the grain on their own property, and not for those who buy corn for resale or industrial use, so large confinements, grain traders, and feed factories continue to supply through traditional commercial channels.
This delineation is what allows the increased volume to reach those with fewer purchasing alternatives, as small producers rarely manage to negotiate prices with a grain trader and often pay the full retail price when supplies run out.
An inter-ministerial ordinance requires more than one signature
The type of regulation chosen also speaks to the decision.
An inter-ministerial ordinance is signed by more than one department, which indicates that the expansion involved distinct areas of the government and not an isolated decision from a single ministry, as would occur with a common ordinance.
The details of the measure, including the ordinance number and access criteria, are published by the National Supply Company.
If you raise animals on a small scale and have already bought corn at retail, please share how the process was in your region in the comments.
How much of your monthly raising costs is just the corn that becomes feed for the animals?
