Jan 28, 2010
Dryer Weather Allows For Harvest Progress In Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in Mato Grosso are taking advantage of a few days of sunshine to continue harvesting their soybeans. In Sapezal, in western Mato Grosso, an estimated 18% of the crop has been harvested. In Nova Mutum and Lucas do Rio Verde in central and northern Mato Grosso, 10-15% of the crop has been harvested. Statewide, the soybean harvest in Mato Grosso is approximately 7-8% complete. Even though the soybean harvest started around Christmas time, it has progressed slowly due to wet weather. Farmers applied desiccants to many of the early-maturing soybean fields in order to accelerate the maturation process. Moving forward, most farmers will now allow the soybeans to mature naturally.
The number of confirmed cases of soybean rust in Mato Grosso is about five times more than last year at this time. During the 2009-10 growing season, it is expected that the farmers in Mato Grosso will make on average 2.5 to 2.6 fungicide applications in order to control soybean rust. Last year on average, there were less than two fungicide applications in Mato Grosso. The southern part of the state appears to be the hardest hit by the disease and the northern part of the state appears to have the least number of cases.
Farmers in Mato Grosso are still worried that an extended period of wet weather during the month of February could negatively impact their soybean yields. In 2004-05 and 2005-06, losses from soybean rust were as high as 10 sacks per hectare in Mato Grosso or 8.5 bushels per acre.
In addition to worrying about the additional costs associated with controlling soybean rust, farmers are also loosing sleep over the declining soybean prices. In Sorriso, the largest soybean producing municipality in Brazil, the price of soybeans is down 29% compared to last year. In Rondonopolis, which is considered the capital of agribusiness, the soybean price is down 28% compared to last year. Farmers did spend less on fertilizers this year when they planted their soybean crop, but they are now spending more on chemicals and transportation.
The one thing that is going in the right direction for Brazilian soybean farmers is the currency exchange rate. Starting last December, the Brazilian currency started to weaken compared to the U.S. dollar. It is now weaker than at any time during the last four months. At its strongest the Brazilian currency was trading at1.7:1 compared to the dollar. It is now trading at about 1.85:1, which is not too much of a change, but at least it is heading in the right direction as far as Brazilian farmers are concerned. The weaker the currency, the more farmers in Brazil are paid whenever they sell their soybeans. Many agricultural economists in Brazil feel the fundamentals should support an exchange of between 2.0 or 2.2:1.