São Gotardo
São Gotardo is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 30,757 people and its land area is 854 km2. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba and to the microregion of Patos de Minas. It became a municipality in 1915.
The urban center is located at an elevation of 1,100 meters southeast of Patos de Minas in the upper Abaeté River valley. The region is made up of a plateau called Mata da Corda. The climate is mild and frost can occur in the dry season (from May to September). Neighboring municipalities are: Matutina and Tiros to the North, Rio Paranaíba to the east, Campos Altos and Santa Rosa da Serra to the south, and Quartel Geral to the west.
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The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$277 million, with 166 million generated by services, 18 million generated by industry, and 66 million generated by agriculture. São Gotardo is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. As of 2007, there were 05 banking agencies in the town. There was a well-developed retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. There were 5,961 automobiles in all of the municipality (2007), about one for every 05 inhabitants.
São Gotardo is a large producer of agricultural products, especially coffee and corn. The high elevation combined with tropical latitude allows it to produce coffee and wheat. In the rural area there were 825 establishments (2006) occupying 61,000 hectares (planted area of 14,000 ha and natural pasture of 35,000 ha.). About 3,000 persons were dependent on agriculture. 113 of the farms had tractors, a ratio of one in 7 farms. There were 43,000 head of cattle in 2006. The main crops were:
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