Mar 15, 2018
Planting Window for Safrinha Corn Extended in state of Goias
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture announced earlier this week that farmers in the state of Goias will be allowed to plant their safrinha corn later than recommended and still be eligible for crop insurance as well as financial programs offered by the government.
The extended planting period for safrinha corn was requested by the president of the Soybean & Corn Producers Association of Goias (Aprosoja-GO) in response to the difficulties farmers were having in getting their safrinha corn planted. The soybean planting was delayed last October due to dry weather and now the soybean harvest has been delayed by wet weather. The result has been that farmers missed the recommended planting window for their safrinha corn.
This is important for farmers because if they financed their safrinha corn production through the Bank of Brazil they are required to plant their crop within the recommended planting window in order to be eligible for crop insurance and to facilitate renegotiation of their loans if the late planted corn is impacted by adverse weather.
For early maturing corn planted on certain soil types in certain municipalities, the end of the recommended planting window was extended from February 20 to February 28. In other municipalities and for other corn maturities, the planting date was extended from February 28 to March 10.
The president of Aprosoja-GO emphasized that he requested the extension only to reassure farmers that they could still be covered by government programs if they planted their safrinha corn later than recommended and not in an effort to try and increase the safrinha corn acreage in the state. Historically, the risk of adverse weather during pollination and grain filling increases significantly if the safrinha corn is planted during the month of March in central Brazil.
The Brazilian Minister of Agriculture earlier issued a similar extension for safrinha corn planted in the state of Parana. As of March 9th, AgRural estimated that the safrinha corn crop in Brazil was 81% planted.