Floods threaten final stretch of Brazil’s soybean crop

Torrential rains have put the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul — the second largest soybean-producing state — in public emergency and are causing crop losses. The accumulated rainfall last week was over 31 inches (~79 cm) with more rain expected this week.

“This affects basically all the crops that have not been harvested yet, which is about 1.5 million hectares,” says Luiz Fernando Fuch, president of the Association of Corn and Soybean Producers of Rio Grande do Sul. “Those affected areas will have total loss.”

The situation may worsen as rains are forecast for the south of Brazil through the first half of May, according to meteorology service Climatempo.

The second corn crop was not affected because Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state, plants wheat in the winter and not corn. There are concerns as the rain moves north for states that do plant a second corn crop.

One of the most recent soybean crop projections in the country from Datagro put Brazilian output at 147.9 million metric tons, up from 146.3 million metric tons. However, this projection did not account for the recent rainfall.

IC UAC according to Successful Farming