Sep 15, 2009
Argentina Becoming A Monocrop Country Of Only Soybeans
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Argentina is rapidly turning into a country with one crop - soybeans. Currently, the Argentine soybean acreage is estimated at 19 million hectares and the corn acreage is estimated at 2 million hectares. In other words, the soybean acreage is 9 times more than the corn acreage and there are indications that the corn acreage may go even lower and that the soybean acreage may go higher. I would not be surprised if the soybean acreage ends up 10 times larger than the corn acreage before planting is complete!
The farmers in Argentina realize that this is not a good agronomic practice. If they continue to plant only soybeans year after year, it is going to result in increased diseases, increase pest pressures, higher production costs and lower yields. Everybody knows this including the policy makers in the federal government. It just shows what a warped policy the federal government has adopted in Argentina in respect to agriculture.