Jun 07, 2024
Adjusted "Soybean Free" Period in Mato Grosso Starts June 8th
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The annual "soybean free" period in the state of Mato Grosso will start on June 8, 2024 and end on September 6, 2024. During the 90-day period, no live soybean plants are permitted in fields, along roadways, or around storage or transportation facilities. The program was put in place years ago to slow the movement of soybean rust disease from one growing season to the next.
This year's soybean free period has been moved forward about a week by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. In past years, it would be between June 15th to September 15th. The Minister moved it forward at the request of specifically cotton farmers in Mato Grosso who indicated they needed to plant their cotton earlier to insure optimum yields.
Soybean planting in Mato Grosso will now start about a week earlier than last year, which means that harvesting and exports may start earlier as well. Farmers with irrigation capabilities will start planting on September 6th and if they plant early maturing soybeans, harvesting could start as soon as mid-December. For farmers without irrigation, they will delay planting until the first rains of the summer rainy season.
During the "soybean free" period, technicians from the Mato Grosso Plant and Animal Health Agency (Indea) will survey the state looking for live soybean plants. If live plants are found, the landowner will be notified and they will have ten days to eliminate the plants. If the live soybean plants are not eliminated, a fine will be levied.
Last year, Indea inspected 5,864 properties in the state and identified 67 infractions.
During the 2023/24 growing season, 16,440 soybean production units have been registered with Indea which represented 8,898 producers and 11.2 million hectares of soybeans.