Wheat represents 30% of the world's grain production, and it is the second grain humankind consumes the most. Brazil is the world's 8th largest importer of wheat, but this position can change in the coming years. In the last five years, Brazilian production grew 76%. The results of 2022 show the largest wheat crop in the history of Brazil, reaching 9.5 million tons of grain. When wheat research was intensified in Brazil in the 1970s, national wheat production was incipient, with low-yield cultivars and a lack of appropriate agricultural technologies. In this evolution, the average productivity in Brazilian plantations leaped from 800 kilos per hectare (kg/ha) in 1970 to a yield surpassing 3000 kg/ha in 2022. Between 1977 and 2022, the growth in productivity was 3.5% per year on average (CONAB historical series). Evolution to ensure supply Wheat is the second most consumed food in the world, right after milk and dairy products. As economic development evolves in countries, so does calorie intake. It is in this scenario that, in the last five years, wheat consumption grew 8% in the world, while production grew 4.6% in the same period, according to the USDA. In Brazil, in the last five years, wheat production grew 76%, while planted area grew 50% and consumption grew 4.2% (source: CONAB). There is still room to grow, as the Brazilian consumption of wheat is estimated at 53 kg per inhabitant yearly, half of the consumption by Europeans, for instance (data from Abitrigo). As for increasing the area, research has been prospecting new frontiers in different environments from north to south of Brazil, intensifying existing agricultural production systems, with wheat in crop rotation, in animal feed and better using areas that become idle in the winter. In 2015, Brazil harvested 5.5 million tons. In 2020, production reached 6.2 million tons. In 2021, it reached 7.7 million tons. In 2022, the harvest ended with 9.5 million tons, a volume that meets 76% of the domestic demand. Embrapa Wheat's projections indicate that, if wheat production continues to grow 10% a year, Brazil could reach 20 million tons by 2030. With domestic consumption estimated at between 12 and 14 million tons, Brazil could export its surplus to the world, moving away from being a large importer to join the rank of wheat exporting countries in the international market. In 2022 (January to November), the volume of exports reached 2.5 million tons, more than twice the volume exported in the previous year. On the other hand, Brazilian imports fell 9.7% due to the higher supply of the cereal in the domestic market and to the increase in international prices (source: MDIC). For Jorge Lemainski, general head of Embrapa Wheat, wheat is following the same path that corn and soybeans have followed in Brazil, and has already started to change the geopolitics of grains in the world. "Brazil has area, knowledge and booming demand. The expansion of wheat in the country needs to ensure both the supply of quality food to consumers and profitability for farmers. For that purpose, it is necessary to diversify internal and external markets", Lemainski remarks. Results make farmers enthusiastic Upland wheat has been part of the production system at the Bortoncello family properties in Cristalina, GO, and Paracatu, MG, since the late 1990s, in rotation with soybeans, corn, beans and sorghum. The family used to growing cereal in Xanxerê, SC, and when they migrated to the Brazilian Midwest 26 years ago, farmer Odacir Bortoncello had to consider factors such as altitude, climate and logistics to invest in tropical wheat in the Cerrado biome. "Four years ago, we lost the entire crop to wheat blast, and in the following year the loss was due to a water deficit. But we did not give up, we adjusted the management and the good results followed, exceeding 60 bags per hectare this harvest, twice the average for upland wheat in the region", the farmer says. The area, which in 2022 had 200 hectares of wheat, with three cultivars in upland cultivation, should be tripled in the next crop year. "With investment in fertility and good soil management, our yield went from 2,000 kg/ha to 3,650 kg/ha this harvest, and the goal is to reach 6,000 kg/ha within two years," Bortoncello plans, noting that the path to success is to seek quality genetics and constant interaction with research and technical assistance institutions. “I'm very optimistic about wheat. The crop's profitability has been equivalent to soybeans', with high liquidity in the region. I believe that the area with wheat will grow a lot in the Cerrado biome the next crop year", the farmer says. In the city of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), the wheat harvest took over the month of December at Mauro Fabiani's property. In the region, in the north of RS, intense rains in June and July delayed winter sowing, but the delay ended up benefiting wheat, avoiding problems with late frosts and loss of fertilizers in soil runoff. The final average yield in their 70 hectares of plantation was 76 bags per hectare, but in the plots where there was a delay in sowing, the yield reached 89 bags/ha. The grains were sold at R$94.00 for each 60kg bag, which the farmer deemed good profitability and liquidity: "As I anticipated the purchase of fertilizers, I got good prices before the high. This provided me with a good profitability for this harvest season. We even had offers of contracts above R$100.00 per bag a couple of months before the harvest, but the risks with climate have caused a lot of uncertainty about possible frustrations in terms of quality", explains Mauro, who will increase the area with wheat in 15% the next crop year. "We are already preparing the areas to receive the wheat as soon as the corn is out. Planning starts now; one winter harvest is barely done and we are already preparing the next". "The expansion of wheat farming in Brazil is a collective achievement, which started in research and gained momentum in the fields and in the industry, in a convergent effort of several stakeholders to ensure profitability for farmers with liquidity of the grains in the market. The advance of wheat is a path of no return, which will guarantee food security for Brazilians and generate income for the country with exports", concludes the general head of Embrapa Wheat, Jorge Lemainski.