South America Calling

Brazil Soy Harvest Picks Up Pace

Brazilian soybean harvest picked up some pace over the last week and is now in line with the five-year average, said AgRural, a local farm consultancy, on Friday.

Fieldwork is 4% complete, up from 2% last week but still behind the 6% registered at the same time last year, it said.

Dry weather last weekend across Mato Grosso and the rest of the center-west allowed farmers to get combines into the fields before rain returned in the week. As a result, harvesting in Mato Grosso, the No. 1 soy state, moved forward by three percentage points to 7%.

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Early yields continue to be disappointing in parts of the state's top-producing north -- average yields in Lucas do Rio Verde, a key soy district, are around 39 bushels per acre -- but other parts are harvesting well -- Campos de Julio registered an average bpa of 52, says AgRural.

While the rain has hampered harvest efforts in the state, it will aid the significant part of the crop planted in November and later.

In the southern state of Parana, harvesting efforts moved forward quickly. The No. 2 soy state had collected 9% of the harvest as of Friday, up 7 points on last week but still behind the 11% registered at the same point last year.

But perhaps the most significant news in terms of Brazilian crop prospects was the return of rains to the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul. After a couple of dry weeks, the return of rains provided vital moisture and keeps the state on track for decent yields.

After arriving late, rainfall has been decent in January across the eastern Cerrado growing regions of Bahia, Maranhao and Piaui and was once again abundant last week.

(ES)

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andrew mohlman
2/8/2016 | 6:19 PM CST
Looks low and slow