Yerba Maté Plant Cultivation (Wild, Bio-Dynamic, Organic & Chemical Based)

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Yerba maté grows in South America wild and is widely cultivated throughout central South America.

Wild Yerba Maté: The wild yerba maté plant is a species of holly in the aquifoliaceae family native to subtropical South America namely Northern Argentina, Southern Paraguay, Western Uruguay and Southern Brazil.

Bio-Dynamic farming yerba maté: At this time we do not know of any bio-dynamic farms growing yerba maté.

Cultivating conventional yerba maté:  Most of the global production of yerba maté is grown by using fossil fuel based fertilizers. 

 

Annual Global Production Of Yerba Maté

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Annual Production

Ilex paraguariensis (Organic Yerba Maté), from the family of holy plants, Aquifoliaceae, is a tree used to produce organic Yerba Maté leaves. Which in turn are dried via smoke or unsmoked methods. It is found in the southern regions of South America, Southern Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo), Northern Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones), Paraguay (Alto Parana, Amambay, Caaguazu, Canendiyu, Central, Guaira, Itapua, Misiones, San Pedro), and Uruguay (USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program 2007). Of these regions, Argentina is the largest producer, cultivating around 152,000 hectares or 375,440 acres of both organic and conventional Yerba Maté per year in the north part of the country (Misiones State and Corrientes State). This is equal to approximately 280 thousand metric tons (1 metric ton is 1000 kilos equal to 2,200 pounds) or 308 thousand standard tons per year, representing a large portion of the countries gross domestic product. Brazil and Paraguay are the 2nd and 3rd largest producers. Worldwide, 290 thousand hectares of area harvested with a production of 874,678 metric tons of both organic and conventional Yerba Maté were reported in 2002 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The overall value of Yerba Maté production around the world is estimated at $1.4 billion usd in 2004.

Cultivating Organic Yerba Maté

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Farming Yerba Maté

Cultivating organic yerba maté: Small family farms in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay grow organic yerba maté.

Ilex paraguariensis or Yerba Maté is a subtropical dioecious evergreen tree that can reach 2 to 5 meters in height. Yerba Maté is a flower and fruit producing tree, flowering from October to November in the southern hemisphere and produces fruit from March to June. The Yerba Maté tree requires large amounts of water. On most farms and in the wild this water comes in the form of annual rainfall, the Yerba tree needs no less than 1300 mm through out the year. Hence it only grows in subtropical climates. However the tree is much less susceptible to temperature, being able to withstand temperatures of –2 °C, with an average annual temperature of 22 to 25°C. The latitude that most of the worlds Yerba Maté can be viewed on our Organic Yerba Maté Production and Sales Site.

 

Harvesting Organic Yerba Maté Leaves

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Harvesting Yerba Maté Leaves

Yerba Maté is an industrialized process conducted by various methods depending on the region in S. America. The 3 primary ways for cultivation and harvesting wild organic Yerba Maté, Combination, and cultivated organic Yerba Maté plantations. Though not all are small family farms, Certified Organic like Mendo Maté's brand Yerba Maté. Some small wild harvesting of organic Yerba Maté from the forest is common in small communities but this is far out weighed by large commercial plantations. Small organic and bio-dynamic practices yield better production rates for the growing of natural forests in both the short term and long term. Both natural forest harvest and mixed system cultivation are primarily found in Brazil. Small organic cultivation of Yerba Maté is believed to be the most efficient method of production, this practice has existed by the indigenous Guarani Tribe for 100s if not thousand of years.

Map Of Yerba Maté Farming & Production In South America

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This map of South America details the general geographic regions of yerba maté cultivation. Included is wild yerba maté and domestic cultivation of yerba maté Ilex paraguariensis  in South America. The yerba maté plant grows best in subtropical environments of Northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and parts of Southern Brazil. Each region has developed different "methods" or styles of growing, curing and marketing yerba maté.

Mendo Maté yerba maté is grown, cured and packaged in Northern Argentina where the unsmoked or cured method is deployed. Using large drying sheds the yerba is allowed to cure over a set of time without smoke or heat from a fire.

Map of South America details the general geographic regions of yerba maté cultivation.

In this map we have en-circled the basic location of most of if not all the yerba maté production at this time in the world. Yerba maté needs a warm sub-tropical climate to thrive and produce the green elliptical leaves that make up this powerful stimulant.