Mar 19, 2019
2018/19 Argentina Corn 6% Harvested, Early Yields Very Good
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in Argentina have harvested 6% of their 2018/19 corn crop and early yield reports continue to be very good. Most of the harvesting thus far has been in central Argentina where the corn was planted first and the weather during the growing season has been good. This is also the most productive area of Argentina, so it's no surprise that the corn yields are very good.
The Rosario Exchange, which generally focuses their analysis on the central production areas of Argentina, is estimating the average corn yield for the early planted corn in central Argentina at 11,100 kg/ha (171 bu/ac) with a high of over 15,000 kg/ha (231 bu/ac). The early planted corn in central Argentina will certainly be the highest yielding corn in Argentina this year. They are concerned that continued wet weather in central Argentina could delay the harvest and make it more difficult to transport the corn on the unpaved rural roads.
The Rosario Exchange increased their corn estimate 0.8 million tons to 47.3 million. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange kept their estimate unchanged at 45.0 million tons in spite of the fact that they increased their running estimate of the corn yield to 9,170 kg/ha (141.2 bu/ac). The USDA is estimating the Argentina corn crop at 46.0 million tons.
In their weekly report, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange rated the corn crop as 9.3% poor to very poor and 56.3% as good to very good, which is about unchanged from last week. The soil moisture for the corn is rated 13.3% short to very short and 40.7% optimum to surplus, which is an improvement compared to last week. The early planted corn is 57% mature, while the later planted corn is 27% filling grain.