Brazil: Soybean Harvesting in Mato Grosso Off to a Slow Start

Soybean harvesting in Mato Grosso is off to a slow start because of dry weather last September and early October slowed the start of the soybean planting. Harvesting thus far has been limited to irrigated soybeans that were planted in early September. The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) has not yet indicated what percent of the soybeans in the state have been harvested, but it is probably only a few percent. Last year at this time, 6.4% of the soybeans were harvested.

Imea is estimating that Mato Grosso, which is the largest soybean producing state in Brazil, will produce a record soybean crop of 44 million tons due to an increase in acreage of 1.4% to 12.66 million hectares (31.2 million acres). If realized, that would represent an increase of 12.7% compared to last year.

Farmers are optimistic about their soybean yields, but they are concerned that constant overcast skies and a lack of sunshine may impact yields. Rainfall in the state during December and thus far in January has been heavy with rain occurring nearly every day. The lack of sunshine has resulted in lower-than-expected yields from the irrigated soybeans that have been harvested thus far.

The forecast is calling for more heavy rain across the state that could delay the start of harvesting for the dryland soybeans, which should begin in about 10 days. Wet weather during harvest can result in poor seed quality and delays at the grain elevators because the soybeans would need to be dried before being put into storage.

Delays at the grain elevators can back up the harvest progress even more due to the lack of on-farm storage. In Brazil, approximately 15% of the grain storage is on-farm which puts producers at the mercy of how fast the soybeans can be delivered to the grain elevators or cooperatives. If the grain delivery is slowed, so too is the harvest progress.

Tags: acreage, Brazil, soybeans, yields, crop, harvesting