Aug 31, 2021
Brazil Safrinha Corn 89% Harvested, Yields Continue to Get Worse
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Brazilian safrinha corn was 89% harvested as of late last week compared to 87% last year according to AgRural. This represents an advance of 10% for the week. The harvest is complete in Mato Grosso, and it is starting to wind down in Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Minas Gerais. Parana continues to register the slowest harvest progress with 64% harvested as of earlier last week.
The latest planted safrinha corn was expected to be the worst and reports out of southern Brazil are confirming the farmer's worst fears. The yields of the late planted corn are very low, and the quality is very poor, so poor in fact, that in some cases, the grain elevator will not accept the corn.
For example, in the municipality of Maringa in northern Parana, yields of the later planted safrinha corn are down approximately 75%. Safrinha corn yields in the region are generally in the range of about 80 sacks per hectare (76 bu/ac), but this year, the yields of the latest planted corn are in the range of 20 sacks per hectare (19 bu/ac). The seed quality is also very low with as much as 30% of the seed shriveled and moldy.
It is no surprise that the yields of the later planted safrinha corn are so low after being planted more than a month later than normal, then encountering a historic drought, and finishing with 4 episodes of strong frosts while the corn was in the process of filling grain