Cattle ranching is deeply embedded in the culture of Uruguay, particularly in rural areas. Forestry is a relative newcomer, having been identified as a strategic development priority in the late 1980s. In recent years, farmer discomfort has become apparent in rural communities with new competing sectors putting at risk long-established ways of life and local cultural values.
Land prices have been spiralling upwards, exacerbated by increased foreign investment into large-scale agriculture and forestry. This threatens to limit land access for traditional cattle ranchers.
Pulp producer Montes del Plata (MdP), a joint venture between Arauco and Stora Enso formed in October 2009, is one of the biggest land owners in Uruguay, with 264,000 hectares across the country. Far from seeing forestry and cattle as competing sectors, MdP has realized the value of actively managing the synergies between them by leasing its land to local cattle herders for grazing.
