Dec 05, 2019
Argentina Soy 39% Planted, Corn 46%, Dryer Forecast Worries
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Southern Buenos Aires and southern La Pampa received some rainfall last week, which helped relieve some of the dryness, but it did not fully recharge the soil moisture. The core production region of central Argentina continues to receive the most rainfall and the moisture situation in central Argentina remains favorable. There were also rains in northern Argentina, which should set the stage for soybean planting starting this month.
The forecast is calling for dryer than normal conditions for the next 10 days at least which will result in increased moisture stress especially in the southern and western areas. The bottom line is that the weather in Argentina continues to be very uneven and not what it should be for this time of the year.
The soybeans in Argentina are 39% planted, which is 1.7% slower than last year. This represents an advance of 7.7% for the week. The most advanced soybean planting is in the core production areas where the crop is 60-65% planted. In southern Argentina the soybeans are 15-30% planted and soybean planting has not yet started in far northern Argentina.
The soybeans are in vegetative development and the crop is rated 34% fair, 62% good, and 3% excellent. The soil moisture for the soybeans is rated 14.8% short to very short and 31.4% optimum to surplus.
Last week, both the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange and the Argentine Government increased their soybean planted acreage by 100,000 hectares due to the assumption that farmers may switch some of their intended corn to soybeans. The switch is occurring because farmers are concerned that the new administration, which will assume power on December 10th, will increase export taxes and potentially interfere in the corn export market.
The Argentine corn crop was 46.2% planted as of late last week according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. This represents an advance of only 0.5% for the week. The most advanced corn planting is in the core production areas where the crop is approximately 95% planted. In southern Argentina the corn is 30-60% planted and no corn has been planted in far northern Argentina.
After several weeks of slow planting, the corn planting pace should now start to pick up as the second phase of corn planting gets underway in Argentina.
The corn in Argentina is rated 2.0% poor, 44.6% fair, 47.1% good, and 6.3% excellent. The corn rating this week is slightly better than last week. The soil moisture for the corn is rated 10.2% short to very short and 34.5% optimum to surplus, which is also a slight improvement compared to last week. The corn is 72% in vegetative development and 7% pollinating.