Wet Weather Slows Wheat Planting in Rio Grande do Sul

The southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul is Brazil’s largest wheat producing state, but farmers are having difficulty getting their 2024 wheat planted in a timely manner. Emater reported that farmers had planted 85% of their winter wheat as of late last week, which was up only slightly from the prior week. Recent wet weather has kept farmers out of the field as they try to finish planting.

Emater estimates that farmers intended to plant 1.31 million hectares of winter wheat (3.24 million acres). Even some of the wheat that has been planted is encountering difficulty in germination and getting the stand establishment due to saturated conditions.

In addition to weather delays, many farmers are also confronting financial difficulties left over from historic flooding last November and December that resulted in very disappointing soybean and corn crops. With a lack of available credit, some farmers reduced their inputs or switched their intended wheat acreage to barley instead, which has a lower cost of production. At the current price of wheat in the state, Emater estimates that farmers would have to harvest 45 sacks of wheat per hectare (approximately 40 bu/ac) to cover their costs.

The second largest wheat producing state in Brazil is Parana where farmers are expected to plant 1.152 million hectares (2.84 million acres). The two states combined will plant approximately 81% of Brazil’s 2024 wheat acreage. Conab estimates that Brazil will produce 8.95 million tons of wheat in 2024 compared to a domestic demand of 12-13 million tons. The deficit will be made up by importing wheat primarily from Argentina.

Tags: Brazil, winter wheat, wheat, wet weather, estimate, planted