Brazil: soybean harvest reaches 82% in Mato Grosso do Sul

The weather has dried out somewhat in recent weeks in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in west-central Brazil and this has allowed farmers in the state to accelerate the harvesting of their 2016/17 soybean crop. According to the Soybean and Corn Producers Association of Mato Grosso do Sul (Aprosoja/MS), farmers in the state have harvested 82% of their soybeans. The harvest is most advanced in the southern part of the state with 86% of the soybeans harvested. The soybean harvest in the state is expected to be completed during the first half of April.
 

Aprosoja/MS is estimating that farmers in the state planted 2.52 million hectares of soybeans in 2016/17, which is 2.4% more than the 2.48 million hectares planted in 2015/16.
 

Many farmers in the state plant a second crop of corn after the soybeans are harvested and Aprosoja/MS is estimating that 75% of the safrinha corn has been planted. They estimate that farmers in the state will plant 1.8 million hectares of safrinha corn compared to the 1.66 million planted in 2015/16 (+8%). The yield of the safrinha corn this year is expected to be 85.0 sacks per hectare (78.5 bu/ac) with a total production of 9.18 million tons.
 

The 2015/16 safrinha corn crop in the state was very disappointing due to hot and dry conditions during the growing season. The summer rains in 2016 ended in early April, which was about three weeks earlier than normal. The crop was then negatively impacted by freezing temperatures at the end of May before the crop was mature. As a result, the statewide safrinha corn yield last year was 61.3 sacks per hectare (56.6 bu/ac) with a total production of 6.12 million tons.