Jan 06, 2022
Corn Yields in Rio Grande do Sul Down 59%, Soybeans Down 24%
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The hot and dry conditions in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul continues to take a toll on the corn and soybean crops in the state. For the last several days, most of Brazil's highest temperatures in the upper 90's °F were recorded in Rio Grande do Sul.
The Federation of Agricultural and Livestock Cooperatives in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FecoAgro/RS) released this week their estimate of crop losses due to the dry conditions in the state. They estimate that the dryland corn yields in the state will be down 59.2% and the irrigated corn yields will be down 13.5%.
The adverse weather hit the corn as it was pollinating and filling grain. In some of the hardest hit areas, farmers have decided to cut the corn for forage instead of leaving it for grain production. They are cutting the corn earlier than anticipated in the hope that they might be able to plant soybeans if there is adequate soil moisture.
FecoAgro/RS estimated that the soybeans in the state were 93% planted and that the soybean yields will be down 24%. The losses for both the corn and the soybeans are irreversible and the light showers that fell in the state this week not sufficient to reverse the overall downward trend.
Farmers organizations are petitioning the local and state officials to declare a state of emergency so they can qualify for federal aid. During the 2020/21 growing season, producers in 200 municipalities missed out on federal aid because the municipality had not declared a state of emergency.