Jan 03, 2018
Weather in Argentina Continues to be Worrisome
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in Argentina continue to be concerned about the erratic weather. In some areas the rainfall has been good enough to stabilize the situation, while in other areas, the rainfall has been inadequate to recharge the dry soil moisture.
The areas where the weather is the most problematic is in northern Argentina and then in northern Buenos Aires, central Santa Fe, and northern Cordoba. In northern Buenos Aires province for example, they still need to plant approximately 20% of their soybeans and 30% of their late corn. The region of northern Buenos Aires has not received a rain greater than 2 inches since October and the last two rains in December were both about 0.8 inches and not enough to recharge the soil moisture.
The delay in corn planting is most important because the corn planting window in northern Buenos Aires has already passed. Corn planted from this point forward will probably have a lower yield potential. Additionally, some of the earlier planted corn has also been impacted by adverse weather. The earlier planted corn encountered hot and dry conditions during pollination and the yields are expected to be less than originally anticipated. The delayed soybean planting is also expected to have a negative impact on the soybean yields.
The head of the crop estimation department of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange feels that approximately 40% of the corn and soybean acreage in Argentina needs rain especially in northern Buenos Aires, central Santa Fe, and northern Cordoba. This is in addition to the northern part of the country where farmers still need to plant about 2,000,000 hectares of soybeans and 900,000 hectares of corn.
There is still time to plant soybeans in northern Argentina because the planting window in northern Argentina extends until about the middle of January. According the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, as of late last week, the soybeans in Argentina were 82% planted and the corn was 70% planted.