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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
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Production
Estimates and Crop Assessment Division |
November
22, 2004Brazil: 2004/05 Soybean Planting Progress Update
With the
start of the 2004 summer rainy season in October, planting operations for the
2004/05 soybean crop began in earnest. The typical planting window in Brazil is
lengthy, stretching from October through December. Soybean varieties that have
varying maturation periods are available for all areas, enabling farmers to
stagger planting and harvest operations and effectively lessen the risk of
adverse climatic conditions. That being said, it can be advantageous to plant
exceptionally early, thus ensuring an early harvest and the potential to plant a
second crop late in the rainy season while rainfall and soil moisture reserves
are still high. Much of the country has a distinctly dry winter season, which
limits agricultural activities (the major exceptions being the traditional
southern states from Sao Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul). Commercial soybean
growers in the rapidly expanding Center-West region have been keen to intensify
their farming systems to enable double-cropping of soybeans with corn, sorghum,
cotton, and to a lesser extent wheat. The success of the double cropping system
in these central Brazilian states often hinges on how early the summer soybean
crop can be harvested. In limited areas of the state of Mato Grosso, for
example, early soybean plantings are possible in September when moisture
conditions permit. But that is dependent on the timing of the onset of the
summer rainy season, and this year very little planting was achieved before the
middle of October.
Soybean planting progress throughout the country has steadily advanced during the past 6 weeks, closely tracking the typical pace achieved in the past 5 years. As of November 20, nearly 65 percent of the crop has reportedly been sown, with rapid progress noted in most areas as weather permits. The rainy season to date has been typified by scattered-to-heavy showers, followed by clear days with plenty of sunshine. This has enabled fieldwork to proceed quickly when soil moisture conditions are deemed optimal. Near-normal progress has been made in the states of Mato Grosso, Goias, Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana, and Sao Paulo where rainfall has been adequate. In the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Maranhao, Tocantins, and Piaui, however, rainfall has been deficient to date, and planting progress significantly lags normal levels.
Recent storm systems in the southern states have drenched much of the summer grain and oilseed producing region, and have replenished the soil moisture profile to full capacity. These rains have temporarily slowed fieldwork in Rio Grande do Sul, but the plentiful moisture supplies bode well for emerging crops and early vegetative establishment throughout the region. Though rains have been less concentrated in the important Center-West states of Mato Grosso and Goias, surface soil moisture supplies are adequate to allow planting progress to proceed at normal rates. Sufficient additional rainfall is required in the coming few weeks to ensure plantings do not stall and that moisture stress does not take hold in newly emerging crops. Areas of concern at this point are the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Tocantins, and Piaui which have yet to receive adequate rainfall. Bahia is the state which is furthest behind schedule, but as a minor producer it represents only about 4 percent of national soybean area.
