IARN — Safrinha corn planting in Brazil is complete, however, recent dryness has led to yield concerns for these second crop producers.
In this week’s South American weather and crop update on the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride says while the dry conditions in South America have allowed producers to catch up on the soybean harvest and finish safrinha corn planting, growers in these areas are now concerned about decreased yield potential.
“At this point, we’re already hearing that they’ve backed off the (safrinha) production estimates there,” McBride said. “We won’t have as big of a crop down there as what was originally thought, but overall, Brazil is still going to have a record bean crop and a near-record corn crop. That’s mainly based on the amount of acres that they plant. We’re looking at their soybean harvest really starting to climb up there at 78 percent now. That’s still a little bit behind where it would normally be, about 5-6 percent below normal, but they are now finished with that safrinha corn planting.”
McBride summarizes recent weather patterns in Brazil and Argentina.
“The rains have started to abate in Argentina, so we’re going back to that dryer pattern,” he said. “They got enough rain to stabilize that crop in March. Now, it’s going into April and we’re seeing things dry out again. Same thing with Brazil. As they have been late to plant their safrinha corn crop, they are cutting into that dryer period. They do have some rain that’s going to help push things along in the early development, but that annual dry season for them comes in around that May timeframe which will be a very timely issue for them when it comes to pollination and crop development.”
The team at Allendale can be reached by calling 800-262-7538, or you can visit allendale-inc.com. McBride’s full radio interview can be heard at the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
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