Someone arriving at Fazenda Mário Ferreira might think he or she was suddenly transported to somewhere in Iowa or Kansas
It doesn't look like a typical Brazilian farm
situated around crop-covered gentle hills with grain elevators visible in the distance
with an asphalt road well into the impeccably clean farming facilities and manicured lawns
It is only when Mário Ferreira de Souza activates the hangar power door from his cellphone to reveal two immaculate EMB-202 Ipanemas inside that you confirm you’re still in Brazil - in Boa Esperança
Mário Ferreira de Souza comes from a farming family from Primeiro de Maio
a city in Paraná right next to the border of the state of São Paulo
Mário’s family had no farm and used to rent land to grow their crops
he co-owned an ultralight aircraft with an uncle
even before he finished his private pilot course at the Aeroclube de Campo Mourão
Mário is actually fond of dealing with aircraft
he started an ag operation called Aviação Agrícola Boa Esperança Ltda
With a nephew who is an ag pilot as a partner
As Mário’s son João Paulo Ferreira de Souza grew up
Márioi expected him to follow his steps and help him in the ag aviation business
 He wanted to get a degree in computer science
This caused an estrangement between father and son
João Paulo changed his mind and went to the Aeroclube de Londrina for his private pilot course
which he started in 2010 and finished in 2011
Mário bought a Cessna 140 for João Paulo to build time for his commercial pilot license and ag school
Mário says this is the cheapest way to obtain the required flight experience
as the airplane holds its value when you sell it
and in 2012 he took his ag school course at the Aeroclube de Ponta Grossa
Mário’s nephew and partner in Aviação Agrícola Boa Esperança decided to go his own way
so Mário and João Paulo started a new company
It is based on Fazenda Mário Ferreira and operates out of a 700-meter private grass strip (SNYY)
Like all the facilities and equipment on the farm
Mário took care of the farm and the administrative chores of the ag operation while João Paulo flew
Mário got his aerial applicator license at the Aeroclube de Ibitinga ag school
becoming one of Brazil's few private pilots with an ag rating
Ferreira & Souza has had several different ag planes
and an Air Tractor AT-402A they operated for two years
many Ferreira & Souza customers in Boa Esperança bought large ground rigs
reducing the demand for aerial applications
Mário and João Paulo had to look for other clients to keep their operation flying and found them in Naviraí
about 150 miles northwest of Boa Esperança
Mário and João Paulo built a base with a hangar and a strip in a farm that belongs to their largest customer
most of their customers are neighboring farms
so they fly out of only three satellite strips in addition to the base strip
Ferreira & Souza operates two EMB-202 Ipanemas with Zanoni spray equipment
They use rotary atomizers to spray insecticides and fungicides at 1.2 and 1.25 GPA - the 0.05 “extra” GPA being for easier figures when spraying fields in “requires,” an ancient area measure roughly equivalent to 5.93 acres that are still used in the state of Paraná
Ferreira & Souza does not spray herbicides
with the remaining 30% around their home base in Boa Esperança
Crops sprayed are mostly soybeans and corn
Once split over João Paulo's professional plans
planning the future of Ferreira & Souza Aeroagrícola
They were recently joined by Maurivan Oliveira
a former loader who obtained his private and commercial licenses in the Aeroclube de Toledo
He then saved for three years to pay for ag school
which he attended in 2015 in the Aeroclube de Ponta Grossa
He then flew a difficult season in the state of Pará (in the Brazilian Amazon) before finding a seat in an operation in the state of São Paulo
where he flew for six years and got to fly an Air Tractor AT-402A
Mário flying his own crops and João Paulo and Maurivan flying full-time for the other customers
their expansion plans for Ferreira & Souza Aeroagrícola will certainly succeed
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