Apr 28, 2022

Early Winter Wheat Planting Underway in Parana

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

Farmers in southern Brazil are starting to plant their 2022 winter wheat crop. In the state of Parana, farmers have planted 3% of their winter wheat compared to 5% last year according to the Department of Rural Economics (Deral). Recent rains have improved soil moisture and the wheat planting is expected to progress rapidly and be essentially completed by the end of May

Deral expects farmers in the state to plant 1.17 million hectares of winter wheat (2.8 million acres), which is down from last year because some farmers in the state opted to plant more safrinha corn due to the strong corn price. At the present time, 100% of the emerged wheat is rated in good condition compared to 92% last year at this time.

The other big wheat producing state in southern Brazil is Rio Grande do Sul, but wheat planting has not yet started in the state. Wheat planting in Rio Grande do Sul usually starts in May and concludes in June. The bulk of the wheat in the state is harvested during November.

Farmers in Parana have harvested 98% of their soybeans, which is up 2% from last week. The safrinha corn in Parana is 100% planted with 96% of the corn rated in good condition. The percentage of the safrinha corn rated good will probably decline next week after a more complete assessment is conducted of the damage caused by severe storms over this past weekend.