Aug 24, 2016
New Soybean Planting and Harvesting Calendar in Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
After several years of starts and stops, a new planting and harvesting calendar has been established in the state of Mato Grosso. Farmers in Mato Grosso are now allowed to plant their soybeans starting on September 15th and they must conclude their planting by December 31st. In 2017, all the soybeans must be harvested by May 5th, which is when the next soybean-free period starts. In previous years the soybeans had to be harvested by June 15th, but the date has been backed up to May 5th to specifically prohibit the planting of safrinha soybeans in the state.
Scientists especially wanted to eliminate a second crop of soybeans planted back-to-back in the same field during the same growing season. They felt this second crop of soybeans helped to propagate the spread of soybean rust from one growing season to another and that there was limited financial gain from planting a second crop of soybeans instead of a second crop of corn for example.
The only live soybeans permitted in Mato Grosso between May 5, 2017 and September 15, 2017 will be those used in scientific research for the development of new soybean varieties or for seed multiplication. These fields need to receive prior approval from the Plant and Animal Protection Department for the State of Mato Grosso (Indea-MT) and they must be inspected regularly for the presence of soybean rust.
Other states in central Brazil are expected to adopt a similar planting and harvesting calendar over the next few years.