Ponte Nova

Ponte Nova is located a few kilometers south of the Doce River on a tributary called the Piranga.

Ponte Nova produces livestock, both dairy and meat, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables, and swine raising, this being quite developed with more than 350 establishments and 30,000 head.

Until recently the city was the center of a prosperous sugar-cane growing area and there were several mills (engenhos in Portuguese).

The municipality included the 377 hectares (930 acres) Fazenda São Mateus Biological Reserve, created in 1974.

[3] An audit in 2012 stated that a number of biological reserves created in 1974 on state-owned land were being re-assessed, since they no longer qualified as conservation units.