Sep 26, 2017

Farmers in Argentina have Planted 12% of their 2017/18 Corn Crop

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

The recent weather in Argentina has turned dryer, which is an improvement and especially good news for the saturated areas of Buenos Aires and La Pampa. After a year and a half of excessive rains, a couple of weeks of dry weather is very welcomed. As an illustration of the improving conditions, the wheat crop in Argentina is now rated at 33% with excessive moisture and 45% with adequate or optimum moisture, which is a significant improvement compared to a month ago. Farmers in northern Argentina are now actively planting their sunflowers which are now 36% planted.

The improved conditions in Argentina may be short lived because the 10-day forecast is calling for a return of wet weather. The next round of showers may be a little further north than the previously saturated areas of Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces.

Corn - Farmers in Argentina finally finished harvesting their 2016/17 corn crop last week! Wet weather frustrated the 2016/17 corn harvest ever since it started back in March. The last corn to be harvested was in the saturated areas of Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces. Certainly the 2016/17 corn harvest will be remembered as the slowest in recent memory.

As some farmers finished their corn harvest, others have started planting their 2017/18 corn crop. In central Argentina, farmers are actively planting their 201718 corn crop and the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reported that 12% of the corn had been planted by the end of last week. The most advanced planting pace is probably in the western regions of Entre Rios province where approximately 30% of the corn has been planted.