World Grain - May 2021 - 42

Brazil
corn
FACING UPHILL BATTLE
Late planting, dry conditions may result in lower yields

W

orry over world grain stocks is being heightened by the realization that Brazil's Safrinha
corn is reproducing in a very limited moisture environment. The first 10 days in May are unlikely
to provide much opportunity for improved rainfall or
soil moisture, implying lower yields for the early crop.
Nearly 60% of Brazil's corn was planted beyond the
optimal planting date of Feb. 20 and nearly one-third
of the crop was planted three to five weeks later than
usual. Rising futures prices gave producers plenty of
incentive for planting no matter how late it got, but
now the proof is in the pudding and yields may be falling more than expected. Between 25% and 50% of the
corn crop was silking and flowering at the end of April.
Rain must fall significantly in the first half of May to
give crops a chance to yield as well as possible given
the late planting dates.
Brazil's rainfall in April fell well below average in
southern Safrinha corn areas, including Parana, São
Paulo, eastern Mato Grosso do Sul, southern Goias,
southwestern Minas Gerais and southeastern Mato
Grosso. The limited rain was not a big deal as long as
timely rain occurs in May. However, typically the dry
season begins at the end of April and substantial rain in
May is a rare occurrence.
The premature start to the dry season in some southern corn areas already has led to short and very short
top and subsoil moisture. The success of second season
crops in Brazil often is determined by a fully saturated
soil column when the monsoon season ends. That way
Safrinha crops can coast on subsoil moisture through
the reproductive and filling stages of development.
That cushion of moisture is absent this year and corn
needs that moisture now more than ever.
Northern Safrinha crop areas have not been nearly
as dry, and crops still have good production potential
in northern and western Mato Grosso and western and
some central Mato Grosso do Sul production areas.
Subsoil moisture is sufficient in these areas to carry

42	

crop development into the first half of May, and farmers are hoping for a few bouts of light rain between
now and then to protect subsoil moisture. Temperatures
may briefly rise above average, causing faster moisture
losses and greater crop stress. Some temporary cooling
may occur in the second week of May, and the frontal
system bringing the cooler conditions could generate
a little rainfall. The moisture may slow down the deterioration of corn conditions, but without a general
soaking of rain, any relief is expected to be temporary
and downward production potentials will resume after
a few days of net drying.
Brazil's drying bias is not just affecting corn, but its
sugarcane, coffee and cocoa crops as well. However,
most of these soft agricultural commodity crops have
matured enough that the impact on production will
be low. Sugarcane has had a tough year with seasonal
rainfall four to six weeks later than usual and then periods of dryness continued to come and go during the
heart of the summer season. As a result, Brazil's sugarcane tonnage will be down, but the sucrose levels may
be high in the cane that is harvested.
The risk to coffee because of dryness will not be on
this year's crop, which is maturing and getting ready
for harvest, but it could impact next year's crop if seasonal rainfall is delayed. The extra weeks of dry-biased
weather in coffee areas will have soil moisture more
depleted than usual by September when seasonal rains
usually resume, and if they are late, trees could become
stressed enough to perform poorly in the Southern
Hemisphere spring.
Brazil's dryness in corn production areas is more
serious than that of the coffee or sugarcane crops
primarily because of corn's higher demand in world
trade and the already low ending stocks being reported in the United States. A smaller Brazil crop will put
more pressure on the US crop in 2021, and there is
quite a bit of speculation over the fate of the US crop
weather this summer.
May 2021 / World Grain / World-Grain.com

©Sepia100 - stock.adobe.com

by Drew Lerner


http://www.World-Grain.com

World Grain - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - May 2021

World Grain - May 2021 - Intro
World Grain - May 2021 - 1
World Grain - May 2021 - 2
World Grain - May 2021 - 3
World Grain - May 2021 - 4
World Grain - May 2021 - 5
World Grain - May 2021 - 6
World Grain - May 2021 - 7
World Grain - May 2021 - 8
World Grain - May 2021 - 9
World Grain - May 2021 - 10
World Grain - May 2021 - 11
World Grain - May 2021 - 12
World Grain - May 2021 - 13
World Grain - May 2021 - 14
World Grain - May 2021 - 15
World Grain - May 2021 - 16
World Grain - May 2021 - 17
World Grain - May 2021 - 18
World Grain - May 2021 - 19
World Grain - May 2021 - 20
World Grain - May 2021 - 21
World Grain - May 2021 - 22
World Grain - May 2021 - 23
World Grain - May 2021 - 24
World Grain - May 2021 - 25
World Grain - May 2021 - 26
World Grain - May 2021 - 27
World Grain - May 2021 - 28
World Grain - May 2021 - 29
World Grain - May 2021 - 30
World Grain - May 2021 - 31
World Grain - May 2021 - 32
World Grain - May 2021 - 33
World Grain - May 2021 - 34
World Grain - May 2021 - 35
World Grain - May 2021 - 36
World Grain - May 2021 - 37
World Grain - May 2021 - 38
World Grain - May 2021 - 39
World Grain - May 2021 - 40
World Grain - May 2021 - 41
World Grain - May 2021 - 42
World Grain - May 2021 - 43
World Grain - May 2021 - 44
World Grain - May 2021 - 45
World Grain - May 2021 - 46
World Grain - May 2021 - 47
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World Grain - May 2021 - 49
World Grain - May 2021 - 50
World Grain - May 2021 - 51
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World Grain - May 2021 - 55
World Grain - May 2021 - 56
World Grain - May 2021 - 57
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World Grain - May 2021 - 73
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World Grain - May 2021 - 75
World Grain - May 2021 - 76
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-november-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-november-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/-world-grain-november-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2021_01_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_12_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_11_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_10_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_09_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_08_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_07_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_06_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_05_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_04_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_03_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_02_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_01_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_12_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_11_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_10_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_09_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_08_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_07_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_06_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_05_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_04_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_03_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_02_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2018_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2018_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2014_12_15
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/20111_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_05_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_06_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_03_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_10_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_11_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_09_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_09_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_01_01
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http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_02
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_02
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_08_01
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