Feb 03, 2022
Wet Weather Slows Soy Harvesting in Sorriso, Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In the municipality of Sorriso in south-central Mato Grosso, excessive rains in recent days have negatively impacted the soybeans in the region according to the president of the Rural Union of Sorriso, Silvano Felipetto.
Up until last week, they had 20 days of stable weather which helped the soybean crop to mature and for farmers to start harvesting their soybeans. Unfortunately, there has been daily rainfall for the last 6-7 days that have kept farmers out of the fields and there is more rain in the forecast especially for the 6-10 day period. In addition to keeping farmers from harvesting their soybeans, the wet weather can lead to poorer quality soybeans as well.
This is a continuation of the wet and cloudy weather the region has experienced since November. Farmers have complained that the heavy overcast skies and lack of sunshine during November, December, and early January led to increased disease and insect pressures because farmers could not apply control measures and lower yield potentials for the soybeans.
Felipetto now expects soybean yields in the municipality to average 55 sacks per hectare (49 bu/ac). He is estimating the total soybean production in the municipality at 1.9 million tons, which is down 200,000 tons or approximately 10% from initial expectations.
An additional concern for farmers is the condition of the unpaved roads in the municipality. These dirt roads can become impassable when there are heavy rains. This is critically important for farmers who do not have on-farm storage and are forced to transport their soybeans directly from the field to local gain elevators. If the trucks get bogged down due to muddy conditions, they may not be able to continue harvesting until empty trucks return.
Sorriso is the largest soybean and corn producing municipality in Brazil.