News

Weather being watched as Brazil plants soybeans

Soybean planting is starting in South America and analysts say Brazil is expected to deliver a record crop unless there’s a major change in the weather forecast.

Meteorologist Drew Lerner with World Weather Incorporated says the current hot, dry conditions in Brazil are normal before the monsoon season begins and rain is coming to Mato Grosso and southeast into center-south Brazil in October.

“El Nino usually supports a normal start to the rainy season.”

Michael Cordonnier with Corn and Soybean Advisor tells Brownfield even if heat causes slight planting delays in central Brazil, normal soybean yields are possible as long as the weather stays good. However…   

“The more you delay the soybean planting, the more delayed the second crop corn. This year, the El Nino is a particular concern, because El Nino can result in below normal rainfall in central Brazil and maybe an early end to the summer rainy season.”

Lerner says northeastern Brazil, a smaller soybean producing area, could struggle with dryness, but the bulk of the crop production in Brazil should have a good growing season.

Cordonnier is forecasting Brazil’s soybean crop at 162 million tons, an increase of six million tons from last year. And he says what happens to the world’s largest soybean producing country will affect U.S. soybean prices.