Farmers in Mato Grosso Granted 20 Extra Days to Plant Soybeans

Adverse weather continues to disrupt the 2023/24 soybean crop in the state of Mato Grosso, which is Brazil’s largest soybean producing state. Even though some early maturing soybeans have already been harvested, other farmers are still trying to plant their soybeans or replant fields that were severely impacted by hot and dry conditions.

The Agricultural Federation of Mato Grosso (Famato) recently petitioned the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture to extend the permitted soybean planting window by 40 days to allow farmers to replant some of their soybeans. The Brazilian Minister of Agriculture responded by extending the planting window by 20 days until January 13, 2024.

The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) recently estimated that 5.04% of the 12.13 million hectares of soybeans in the state (29.96 million acres) would need to be replanted, or approximately 1.5 million acres.

Temperatures during October and early November set records and there are reports in the state that the hot and dry conditions may cut short the soybean growth cycle resulting in lower yields. Another heat wave is forecasted to impact the crops in central Brazil once again over the next few days.

Imea has already reduced the soybean acreage in the state by 0.74% from their last report to 12.13 million hectares and it may be lowered even more if the predicted heat wave materializes.

Tags: Brazil, estimate, soybeans, yields, crop, acreage