Argentina Farmers Rush to Plant Corn Ahead of Stormy Weekend

By Maximilian Heath

BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 18 (Reuters) – Corn planting for Argentina’s 2025/26 season advanced rapidly this week in the country’s main agricultural areas ahead of storms forecast for this weekend, which would pause the work, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.

Argentina is the world’s third-largest corn exporter, and for the current season, the exchange estimates an area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres) will be planted with the grain – the second largest in the South American country’s history.

“The proximity of a new storm front … has led to a faster pace of work, seeking to take advantage of the current ground conditions,” the exchange said in its weekly crop report, which noted that 6.2% of the planned area has now been planted.

Regarding the 2025/26 wheat crop, the exchange said that while some regions are reporting cases of disease from excessive soil moisture, 97.1% of the 6.7 million hectares planted with the grain are in normal-to-excellent condition.

Argentina’s wheat harvest begins in November and ends in January.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)