Farmers in Sao Paulo Still Planting Soy, Yield Losses are Anticipated

The 2023/24 soybean planting in the south-central Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has not gone according to plan. After a dry September, soybean planting started in October after a few scattered showers. Rainfall during most of October was scarce and planting came to a halt. Many of the earlier planted soybeans died due to the record heat and lack of moisture.

When the rainfall picked up in November, farmers resumed planting their soybeans and replanted many of the earlier soybeans that had died. Planting is still ongoing in the state, which is very late for soybean planting. Additionally, there is now a seed shortage of the more popular soybean varieties due to excessive replanting across central Brazil.

To complicate matters even more, another heat wave is taking hold across central and south-central Brazil which could make a tough situation even worse. Soybean yields were already expected to be impacted by the earlier adverse weather and the latest heat wave could impact yields even more.

The delayed soybean planting is also going to make it difficult to plant a second crop of corn within the ideal planting window, which ends about the third week of February.

Due to the uncertainty of the potential production, farmers in Sao Paulo have not forward contracted much of their anticipated 2023/24 soybean production despite recently improved soybean prices.

Tags: yields, heat-wave, planting, Brazil, rainfall, soybeans, Production