Oct 08, 2013
Rainfall Returns to Central Brazil allowing Soy Planting to Begin
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Many areas of central and south-central Brazil received their first good rains of the new growing season last week and over the weekend and as a result, soybean planting is now underway all across central Brazil including Mato Grosso, Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and southern Brazil. The forecast is calling for additional showers in the days ahead, so farmers will now go ahead and plant because they are confident enough that there will be ample soil moisture for germination and early plant growth.
Farmers have now started to plant their 2013/14 soybean crop in central Brazil and it is a little slower than what we saw last year. The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) reported that 1.4% of the soybeans in the state had been planted as of the end of last week compared to 8.6% last year. In Parana approximately 10% of the soybeans have been planted. Nationwide, probably less than 5% of the 2013/14 soybean crop has been planted.
The areas of Brazil still waiting for enough rain to get the planting started include northeastern Mato Grosso, northern Goias, Tocantins, parts of Minas Gerais and western Bahia. The summer rains generally start later in these regions, so it is no surprise they are still dry.
Temperatures in central Brazil are very warm, which is typical for this time of the year, but they are still on the cool side in far southern Brazil. Across Rio Grande do Sul, the nighttime temperatures were in the 40's last week and over the weekend.