Jan 11, 2010
Conab Estimates Brazilian Corn Crop At 50.4 Million Tons
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In their January report released late last week, Conab estimated the Brazilian corn crop at 50.4 million tons, which would be 1% less than the 51.0 million tons produced in 2008-09. The full-season corn crop is expected to produce 32.2 million tons (64% of the total production) and the safrinha corn crop is expected to produce 18.1 million tons (36% of the total production).
The total corn acreage in Brazil is estimated at 13.18 million hectares, which is 7% less than in 2008-09. The acreage of the full-season corn crop is estimated at 8.28 million hectares, which is down 10.7% from last year and the safrinha corn acreage is estimated at 4.9 million hectares unchanged from last year. The safrinha corn acreage now accounts for 37% of the total corn acreage in Brazil.
For the full-season corn crop, Rio Grande do Sul now has the most acres at 1.18 million hectares followed by Minas Gerais with 1.16 million hectares and Parana at 0.91 million hectares. The nationwide yield of the full-season corn crop is estimated at 3,906 kg/ha (61.3 bu/ac), which is 7.8% more than last year's yield of 3,630 kg/ha (57 bu/ac).
Many observers are surprised at the low national corn yields in Brazil especially when they consider how good Brazilian farmers are at growing soybeans. The reason for the low yields is because there are two different methods of growing corn in Brazil. Most of the corn in Brazil is mechanized no-till production utilizing all the modern technology that is available. The yields in this type of corn production are typically in the range of 110 to 115 bu/ac. At the other extreme is corn grown mainly by hand in northeastern Brazil, which is a semi-arid region, and in the steep terrain of southern Brazil where mechanized corn production is not possible. In these two areas, corn yields may be in the range of 10 to 30 bu/ac.
The safrinha corn production is all mechanized and the farmers use all the modern technologies. Conab estimates the safrinha corn yield at 3,701 kg/ha or 58 bu/ac. Even though modern technology is used for the safrinha corn crop, the crop still yields much less than the full-season corn crop because the weather can be problematic during the grain filling period.
The farmers in Mato Grosso and Parana plant about equal amount of safrinha corn, averaging about 1.5 million hectares in both states. The difference between the two states is the climate during the grain filling period. In central Mato Grosso where most of the safrinha corn is planted, the rainy season is winding down about the time that the corn crop is filling grain. So the potential problem with the safrinha corn in Mato Grosso can be dry weather. Parana is further south and the potential problem for the safrinha corn crop in that state is cold weather during grain filling. An occasional frost in not uncommon in Parana as the crop is maturing.