Oct 04, 2018
Soybean Planting in Parana off to record fast Pace
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The most rapid spring planting in Brazil is occurring in the state of Parana. Farmers in the state started planting their soybeans on September 11th and according to the Department of Rural Economics for the state of Parana (Deral), 29% of the 2018/19 soybean crop has been planted compared to 16% last year at this time. This represents an 11% increase in one week and it is the fastest planting pace since records have been kept.
The fastest soybean planting is occurring in western Parana where some areas are over 50% planted. If the weather continues to cooperate, the soybean planting in the state will essentially be completed by the end of October.
The last soybeans planted in the state are double cropped after the winter wheat is harvested. The showers that have been good for soybean planting have also slowed the wheat harvest. Deral reported that 47% of the wheat has been harvested compared to 71% last year at this time.
Farmers in Parana have forward contracted approximately 25% of their anticipated 2018/19 soybean production, which is equal to the three-year average. Farmers are very happy with the current soybean price of approximately R$ 80.50 per sack (approximately $9.15 per bushel), which is a 40% improvement compared to last year's price of R$ 59.50 per sack (approximately $7.30 per bushel).
Early soybean planting means early soybean harvesting and early planting of the safrinha corn crop as well. Some of the early planted soybeans will be ready for harvest by the end of December and farmers will immediately start to plant their safrinha corn as soon as the soybeans are harvested. Planting safrinha corn in early January would be a tremendous improvement over last year when some of the safrinha corn planting was delayed until February or early March. The late planted safrinha corn in 2018 was impacted by dry weather and frosts resulting in a 25% reduction in the statewide corn yield.
Planting of the full-season corn in Parana is also well advanced. Deral is reporting that 70% of the full-season corn has been planted compared to 33% last year, but the vast majority of the corn in Parana will be planted as the safrinha crop.