Farmers in Mato Grosso, which is Brazil’s largest soybean and corn producing state, are very concerned about their 2023/24 soybeans and safrinha corn production. After a good start to planting in September, hot and dry weather during October and November negatively impacted the development of the soybean crop forcing farmers to replant some of their soybeans.
The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) estimated that 5.8% of the soybeans in the state had to be replanted and a combination of late planting and reduced yields will result in a production of 42.1 million tons of soybeans, which is down 7% from the previous year.
Due to the uncertainty of their production, farmers in the state have been reluctant to forward contract their soybean production. As of the end of November, farmers had forward contracted 34% of their anticipated production, which is down 6.7% compared to a year earlier.
Imea estimates that farmers in the state will reduce their safrinha corn acreage 6.2% due to the delayed soybean planting, low corn prices, and erratic weather. The 2023/24 safrinha corn yield in the state is estimated at 103.8 sacks per hectare (99 bu/ac) which is down 11% compared to a year earlier. Imea is expecting the total corn production in the state to be down 16.6% to 43.7 million tons.
The Soybean & Corn Producers Association of Mato Grosso (Aprosoja/MT) is more pessimistic and they are estimating that the safrinha corn acreage in the state could be down as much as 25%.
As of the end of November, farmers in the state had forward contracted 15.5% of the anticipated corn production compared to 42.3% a year earlier.
