Brazil: Soybean and Corn Planting Progress
With the start of the 2005
summer rainy season in September, planting operations for the 2005/06 soybean
and corn crops began in earnest. The typical planting window in Brazil for
both of these major summer crops is lengthy, stretching from September through
December. Soybean and corn varieties that have varying maturation periods
are available for all areas, enabling farmers to stagger planting and harvest, 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. Commercial soybean
growers in the rapidly expanding Center-West region have been intensifying
their farming systems in recent years to enable double-cropping of soybeans with
corn, sorghum, cotton, and to a lesser extent wheat. Winter corn production has
grown particularly fast in Mato Grosso during the past 5 years, with area
tripling (from
0.3 million hectares in 2000 to 0.9 million in 2005) and production increasing over 250 percent
(from 0.85 million tons in
2000 to 3.0 million in 2005). Mato Grosso now ranks
second in the nation in winter corn production, and is likely to overtake Parana
for first place in the next few years. 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.
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Current surface soil moisture conditions across
the country are generally favorable, enabling planting operations to proceed at a
rapid pace. However, subsoil moisture reserves are scanty in many states and
this poses a longer-term threat to crops as they proceed through early growth
stages. 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 Parana and Santa Catarina, but the plentiful moisture will benefit
crop emergence 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 is adequate to allow
planting to proceed at normal rates. Additional rainfall is required in
the coming weeks to ensure planting does not stall and that moisture stress does
not affect newly emerging crops. Areas of
concern at this point are the states of Bahia, Maranhao, Tocantins, and Piaui
which have yet to receive adequate rainfall.
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Soybean and corn 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 20th
nearly 65 percent of the soybean crop and 80 percent of the summer corn 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 in areas where these conditions are occurring.
Near-normal progress has been made in the states of Mato Grosso, Goias, Sao
Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul; whereas in Mato Grosso do Sul plantings are well
ahead of the normal pace. In Parana, planting progress is a little behind
schedule owing to excessive rainfall (12-24 inches) during the September-October
period. In the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Maranhao, Tocantins, and Piaui,
however, rainfall has been deficient to date, and planting progress lags
significantly behind the normal pace.
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