MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan farmers planning to plant a record 700.000 hectares of soy beans

Wheat fields ready for another promising crop

Uruguay’s farmland dedicated to soy beans could establish a new expansion record this coming summer: 700.000 hectares. This included the 540.000 currently with wheat and other winter crops.

“Contrary to previous years there’s not much interest in planting sorghum or sunflower, which are two crops that usually rotate with wheat, and farmers will put all their chances in soy beans simply because of price”, said Roberto Symond, the Uruguay Rural Association delegate to the Seeds Institute.

“Corn and sorghum prices this last season have not been good, there was a huge crop for Uruguay standards but no export. Therefore it’s almost certain farmers will go for soy beans and not for sunflowers which was with winter wheat the traditional rotations in Uruguayan agriculture” added Symonds.

“Early wheat and barley are an excellent combination with soy beans”.

As to the current situation of the wheat fields, Symonds said they are doing “wonderfully”. Probably the excess of rain last week caused some fungi problems but farmers were quick to react with preventive spraying.

October however is a crucial month for wheat because excess humidity could impact on the flowering of the cereal’s ear causing some fusariosis seedling problems. This has not been the case for several years now but “much will depend on spring rainfall”.

According to the US Agriculture Department, wheat production in Uruguay is expected to be another record this year, probably above 1.5 million tons which compares most favourably with the 800.000 tons of 2007 and 727.000 tons of 2008.

Uruguay’s soybean crop in 2009 was slightly above a million tons and should reach 1.25 million tons this coming summer.