Mar 26, 2019
Early Soy Harvest Underway in Argentina, Good Yields Reported
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
After several weeks of beneficial conditions, the weather has definitely turned dryer this week in Argentina. It looks like it will be warm and dry this week with some improved chances of rainfall next week.
The early soybean harvest got underway last week in the core production region with average yields in the range of 4,000 kg/ha (59.2 bu/ac) with the highest early yields up to 5,000 kg/ha (74 bu/ac) or more. These early yields are higher than what had been expected and 15-20% higher than average. The early harvested soybeans in the core production regions will be the highest yielding soybeans in Argentina. Overall, the soybean harvest in Argentina is probably just a few percentage points, but the harvest pace will pick up this week due to the dryer weather.
The lowest soybean yields will probably be found in the southwestern production areas where dry weather and an early frost negatively impacted the crop. The region did receive some rains last week, but it is debatable how much they helped the crop.
In their weekly report, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange rated the soybean crop at 9.6% poor to very poor and 52.9% good to excellent, which is slightly lower than last week. The soil moisture for the soybeans was rated 4.8% short to very short and 48.4% optimum to surplus, which is an improvement compared to last week. The early planted soybeans are 38% mature and the later planted soybeans are 3% mature.