4 Reasons Why You Should Care About South America

Why should farmers in the U.S. care about South America? Here are four reasons, says Jon Scheve, president of grain at Superior Feed Ingredients:

1. Planting and/or harvest happens almost year-round in South America.

2. Because of South America’s vast crop production geography, it’s easy to misinterpret weather reports.

3. Most of Brazil’s second corn crop is exported and directly competes with the U.S. crop.

4. While average corn yields are lower in South America versus the U.S., they are steadily increasing.

In South America, soybeans are grown on a long north-south axis, which means they are planted and they mature at very different times. In the U.S., crops are grown more on an east-west axis where planting and maturing dates are more similar throughout the growing region.   

"South America’s soybean planting window lasts nearly four months; in the U.S., it lasts about six weeks," Scheve says. "Because of Brazil’s north-south axis, some fields in the southern part of the country could be planted on the same day fields in the north are harvested."

When it comes to weather, the vast growing region in South America means there are areas experiencing drought while others deal with too much rain.

"Mato Grosso is probably the most important region to watch because it produces nearly 10% of the world’s soybeans, or the equivalent of Illinois and Iowa’s production combined," Scheve explains.  

The states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil are also important to watch, he adds. Combined, they are as key as Mato Grosso, but the two regions have different weather patterns. When Parana and Rio Grande do Sul are dry, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are likely experiencing the same, which all told have double the growing acres as the entire U.S.