May 01, 2019
2018/19 Argentine Soybeans more than 50% Harvested
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Good weather in central and southern Argentina allowed farmers to make very good progress in harvesting their soybeans. In northern Argentina the soybean harvest was slowed last week due to wet weather.
In the province of Chaco for example, which is in far northern Argentina near the border with Paraguay, some areas received 8-16 inches of rainfall earlier last week according to the director of the Rural Society of Argentina. The Rosario Exchange reported that some areas of Chaco have received 36-44 inches of rainfall thus far this growing season. Chaco is not a big soybean producing region, but there are reports of numerous soybean fields under water.
The soybean harvest in Argentina advanced 16.6% last week to 50.7% complete. In the core production areas of central Argentina, the soybeans are 75% harvested while they are 15-25% harvested in southern Argentina and about 10% harvested in far northern Argentina.
Yields from the early planted soybeans in central Argentina continue to be very good in the mid to upper 50's bu/ac. They are getting started on harvesting the late planted soybeans with yields in the mid 40's. According to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, the running average soybean yield last week was 3,820 kg/ha (56.5 bu/ac), which was down 2.9 bu/ac from the prior week.
The table below lists the average weekly soybean yields as reported by the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. The yields are expected to continue declining as the harvest moves into lower yielding environments and the later planted soybeans.
Running Soybean Yield - Buenos Aires Grain Exchange
| Date | Soybean Yield - kg/ha | Soybean Yield - bu/ac |
| April 4, 2019 | 4,210 | 62.3 |
| April 11, 2019 | 4,040 | 59.7 |
| April 18, 2019 | 4,020 | 59.4 |
| April 25, 2019 | 3,820 | 56.5 |
In their weekly report, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange rated the soybean crop at 11.3% poor to very poor and 51.4% good to excellent, which is lower than the previous week. The soil moisture for the soybeans was rated 16.5% short to very short and 37.8% optimum to surplus, which is a mixed result compared to the prior week. The early planted soybeans are 65% harvested and the later planted soybeans are 88% mature.