Oct 23, 2009
Planting Of The 2009-10 Soybean Crop In Argentina Has Begun
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Planting of the 2009-10 soybean crop in Argentina has started in the eastern province of Entre Rios. Less than 1% of the crop has been planted, but that should increase quickly because conditions are favorable for planting across much of Argentina. November is the primary month for planting full-season soybeans in Argentina and December is the primary month for planting double crop soybeans in Argentina.
The 2009-10 soybean acreage in Argentina will certainly set a record, the only question is how much greater will the 2009-10 acreage be compared to the old record set in 2007-08 when 16.37 million hectares were harvested. In 2008-09, Argentine farmers harvested 16.00 million hectares, but a significant amount of the soybeans planted last year were abandoned due to severe drought conditions. In 2009-10, Argentine farmers are expected to plant 19.0 million hectares of soybeans. The increased acreage is coming at the expense of corn, sunflowers and pastures. The trend of switching from other crops into additional soybean production started many years ago and if anything, it is accelerating.
Additionally, there will be more full-season soybeans in Argentina and less double crop soybeans than in previous years. Normally about 25-30% of Argentine soybeans are planted as a second crop after wheat, but the wheat acreage in Argentina declined by 40% this year, thus there are fewer wheat acres to double crop with soybeans. Full-season soybeans generally yield higher than double crop soybeans, therefore the fact that there is a higher percentage of full-season soybeans this year, should give a small boost to the nationwide soybean yield.