South America Calling

Models aren't making it easy to forecast rainfall across Argentina and southern Brazil over the next few days as they still show discrepancies.

It has been very dry in Argentina for the last couple of weeks and will continue to be dry into next week. A pair of fronts are forecast to move through the country late next week and weekend, but models disagree on how much precipitation will fall from them.

Below-normal rainfall has been the norm in Argentina and southern Brazil for the last couple of months. However, the showers that have been coming have hit the driest spots at the right time, keeping plant health largely on track. That luck may be running out with a stretch of...

Although precipitation has been below average during the past few weeks across Argentina, a front will bring widespread precipitation next week which will benefit developing crops.

The weather pattern in South America features less heat and less rain across Argentina and southern Brazil. Will that matter for crop development?

It's been a tough task to accomplish, but there are some small cracks in the good weather situation for South America.

Forecasts called for heavier precipitation than what actually fell during the last few weeks.

Despite some good weather over the last five weeks, there are still concerns about crop development, especially in Argentina's Pampas region where NDVI values are well below normal.

The drought that had built up in Argentina and central Brazil during the winter and early spring has taken a massive hit from the last month's-worth of active weather and heavy rain. But soil moisture is still teetering on the dry side or normal for most places.

Good weather with widespread rainfall has allowed producers in central Brazil, and especially the state of Mato Grosso, to come back to a normal pace of planting, despite a huge delay at the beginning of planting season.

Rainfall during the last two weeks has reduced drought and provided much better planting and growing conditions for corn and soybeans in Argentina and southern Brazil. A dry stretch is not a concern unless it lasts longer than forecast.

Soybean planting in Mato Grosso, Brazil's largest producer, has accelerated, but is still well behind the normal pace. That threatens to force the safrinha (second-season) corn crop to be planted late and expose it to more of the dry season in 2025.

A system is bringing scattered showers into central Brazil on Oct. 10 and are expected to continue after the storm passes next week. However, models disagree on the coverage and intensity of the rainfall, which may or may not make a difference for producers planting...

Though rainfall has been very limited outside of southern Brazil, a storm system next week could bring some needed changes.

Showers are starting to pop up in central Brazil, but they're doing so very sporadically, leading to continued dryness and drought across the region. If showers do not fill in soon, significant delays to soybean planting can be expected, putting a crunch on the safrinha corn and...

The long-awaited start to the wet season for central Brazil is likely to start up late next week or weekend. But that occurs with spotty rains that increase through October. Very dry areas in the region will need to see significant rainfall before producers start planting.

Soil moisture across most of South America is very low for this time of year. Only small areas of the continent's growing areas are having luck with precipitation so far this spring.

Very dry conditions in central Brazil give concern to producers about on-time planting of soybeans. If the wet season rains are delayed, the crunch will be on for the safrinha (second-crop) corn and cotton season in 2025.

Soil conditions are awfully dry to start out the 2024-25 campaign in much of Argentina and Brazil. The weather pattern during the next couple of weeks is not favorable for very many down there.

South American farmers will start to plant their 2024-2025 crop in the next several weeks. Here are the areas of concern in Argentina and Brazil, as well as a closer look at what role a developing La Nina could play for this year's crop.