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Planting pace back on schedule in Brazil

 An atmospheric scientist says the soybean planting pace is catching up in Brazil.

Eric Snodgrass with Nutrien Ag Solutions tells Brownfield September was abnormally dry in the central and western regions of the country.

“Then it started raining in October, they were 35 percent off planting pace. And now we’re going to get to the end of November and they’re going to be 85 percent planted. And we think it’s going to stay wet.”

He says January will be a critical month for the Brazilian crop.

“That’s the bean month. That is the August for Brazil, they try to get that crop out fast and put in a Safrinha crop immediately following it, which is a corn crop. Which is now, I mean Safrinha used to mean second or little (and) it’s not. It’s as huge as the one we grow in the United States. And it’s all about the speed in which they can transition.”

Snodgrass says the La Nina weather pattern that’s in effect tends to benefit Brazil with adequate moisture.