It is a busy time of year for Brazilian agriculture. A strong soybean crop and a longer than normal growing season may have a domino effect on other crops being planted or the ones about to go in the ground.
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer says a good example is the second corn crop.
“The crop continues to lag going into the ground and that does reduce yield prospects because there’s a very defined, normally, end of the rainy season in Brazil,” Meyer explains. “So, if you put the crop in later, then that corn crop is more likely to face adverse conditions under normal rainfall and so therefore they’ve trimmed yields a little bit.”
Also, possibly impacted is the nation’s second crop cotton, but Meyer says that with stronger corn prices, Brazilian growers appear to be shifting planted acreage away from cotton and towards corn.