2021/22 Soybean Harvest in Mato Grosso May be Earliest in History

Farmers in Mato Grosso planted their 2021/22 soybeans at a record pace and the soybean harvest could be record fast as well. Planting in the state started on September 16th, which marked the end of the “soybean free” period and is the first day farmers were allowed to plant soybeans. Mato Grosso is Brazil’s largest soybean producing state responsible for approximately 27% of Brazil’s soybean acreage.

The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) estimates that farmers planted 10.86 million hectares of soybeans in 2021/22 (26.8 million acres), which is up 3.6% compared to last year. As a comparison, the soybean acreage in Mato Grosso is a little more than the 2021 soybean acreage in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana combined.

Imea is estimating the average soybean yield in the state will be 58.5 sacks per hectare (52.3 bu/ac), which is up 1.9% compared to last year. The total soybean production is estimated at 38.14 million tons, or 4.4% more than last year.

The weather during the growing season has been beneficial in most of the state, but in some regions, the lack of sunshine and frequent rains have some farmers concerned about increased disease and pest pressures.

The early harvest means that farmers will be able to plant their safrinha cotton and safrinha corn within the ideal planting window. For safrinha cotton, the ideal window closes about the end of January and for safrinha corn, the ideal window closes about the third week of February. Imea has already estimated that more than 90% of the safrinha corn will be planted within the ideal window. Early planting of the safrinha corn usually results in a good yield potential.

Early soybean harvesting also means that Brazil’s soybean exports will start early as well. There may be a few vessels of soybeans exported out of Brazil by the end of next January, which would be a month earlier than last year.

Soybean & Corn Advisor

Tags: soybeans, Mato Grosso, safrinha corn, record, Imea, safrinha cotton, soybean harvest, planting