Brazilian soybeans continue to face tough weather conditions

The general theme of wetter weather in southern Brazil but drier weather farther north continued into the start of December. For the week-ending Dec. 9th, this was the hottest and driest first full week of December in 30-plus years for Mato Grosso, according to data from WeatherTrends360. Meanwhile, Rio Grande do Sul registered the 9th-coolest and 3rd-wettest first full week of December in 30-plus years. 

The hot and dry weather pattern is expected to continue into mid-December for Central-West Brazil. This is the monsoon season for Brazil but with El Niño continuing to influence the weather pattern, drier weather has prevailed.

The hot and dry weather has delayed soybean planting and has forced some to replant. As this pattern drags on, concern grows for impacts to the important second corn crop (safrinha) which is heavily exported. The longer this pattern continues, the more likely the safrinha crop will be planted outside of the ideal planting window, which tends to decrease yields.

For the second full week of December, week-ending Dec. 16th, WeatherTrends360 forecasts this to be the hottest and 3rd-driest in 30-plus years for Mato Grosso. Hot weather will exacerbate dry soil conditions and, of course, the lack of substantial rainfall diminishes hopes for recharging soil moisture. Rainfall remains favored in southern Brazil, but it will not be quite as wet as previous weeks. Temperatures will turn hotter by the middle to second half of the week in southern Brazil.