May 06, 2020
2019/20 Argentina Soy Harvest Ahead of Average, Approaching 70%
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Harvesting was slowed down somewhat last week by showers across central Argentina, but they generally were not heavy enough to cause any problems with the soybeans.
The 2019/20 soybean crop in Argentina was 68.2% harvested late last week compared to 59.5% last year and 54.7% average. This represents an advance of 11.8% for the week. In the core production areas, the soybeans are 85-95% harvested with 30-60% harvested in southern Argentina and 40-60% harvested in far northern Argentina. The early planted soybeans are 81% harvested while the later planted soybeans are 41% harvested.
The soybeans are rated 23% good to excellent, which is down two points from the previous week. The soil moisture is rated 85% favorable to optimum, which is four points higher than the previous week.
The running soybean yield from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is currently 3,150 kg/ha (46.6 bu/ac), which is 1.2 bu/ac less than the prior week. The highest yielding soybeans from the core production areas were harvested first with yields in the range of 3,745 kg/ha (55.4 bu/ac). Approximately 41% of the later planted soybeans have been harvested with an average yield of 2,570 kg/ha (38.0 bu/ac).
Therefore, the reported soybean yields should continue declining as the harvest moves into the later planted soybeans and the lower yielding environments. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is estimating the final nationwide soybean yield at 2,930 kg/ha (43.3 bu/ac) and they left their 2019/20 soybean estimate unchanged last week at 49.5 million tons.