South America Calling

Rains finally started falling in greater volume and with better coverage in the last days of October across Brazil's Center-West and Southeast regions, allowing farmers to accelerate soybean planting, according to AgRural, a local farm consultancy.

But fieldwork remains well behind schedule in those regions after an uncharacteristically dry October, which has delayed the crop by as much as one month in some regions.

Brazilian soybean planting was 29% complete as of Friday, up 13 percentage points from the week before but well back from the 48% planted at the same time last year, said AgRural.

Farmers in the top-producing state of Mato Grosso took advantage of light rains and forecasts of further showers to plant quickly last week. The state's crop is 35% in the ground, up from 19% last week but well down from the 72% planted at the same stage last year.

There is a similar scenario in neighboring Goias, where planting moved to 21% complete, still well behind the 58% planted at the same point last year.

In Parana, the No. 2 soy state, planting is 55% complete, slightly behind the 63% planted last year. Rain has fallen consistently on the top-producing western portion of the state, the planting delay is due to hot, dry weather in northern and southern reaches.

In contrast with the rest of the country, planting got off to a quick start in Rio Grande do Sul, the No. 3 soy state, where 18% of the soybean crop was in the ground as of Friday, compared with 8% the year before. Heavy rains have fallen across the southernmonst state over the last month.

AgRural estimates Brazilian 2014-15 soybean area will rise 4.3% to 77.8 million acres and production will jump 10% to 94.9 million metric tons.

(CZ)

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