Soybean Harvest in Rio Grande do Sul Hits 55%

The last major state in Brazil to harvest soybeans is Rio Grande do Sul in far southern Brazil. Farmers in the state have now harvested 55% of the soybeans, which represents an advance of 17% for the week according to Emater. Another 34% of the soybeans are maturing, 10% are filling pods, and 1% are flowering.

Harvesting had been slowed by wet conditions, but recent dryer weather has allowed farmers to ramp up the soybean harvest. Another thing that had slowed the harvest pace was the fact that a lot of the soybeans are shorter in height than normal due to drought. That means that the pods are closer to the ground than normal forcing farmers to slow down the combine and be more cautious since the cutter bar had to be closer to the soil surface.

The soybean yields in the state have been improving as the harvest moved into the later maturing soybeans and the seed quality has improved as well. Even with the improved yields, the statewide soybean yield is expected to be 1,500 kg/ha (22.3 bu/ac), which is down 55% from initial expectations.

Corn harvesting in Rio Grande do Sul has been slow as farmers focused their efforts on getting the soybeans harvested. Farmers wanted to get their soybeans out of the field as quickly as possible because soybeans are more vulnerable to wet weather and hail compared to corn.

The corn in the state is 82% harvested with 11% of the remaining corn maturing, 5% filling grain, and 2% pollinating.

Tags: harvest, Brazil, soybeans, drought, yields, Rio Grande do Sul, dryer weather