Another promising week for drought-ridden Argentina in the third full week of March 2023, week-ending March 25, as heavier rains arrived. According to data from WeatherTrends360, this was the second wettest third full week of March in 30-plus years for Argentina’s main soybean-producing regions.
Temperatures also turned more favorable for crops after a hot start to the week with relatively cooler weather by the second half of the week. Unfortunately, the wetter weather arrived a little too late to salvage the damage done by one of the hottest and driest summers in several decades in Argentina.
The rainfall pattern also shifted in Brazil with wetter weather being driven farther north and drier weather in central Brazil. This was the fourth and sixth driest third full week of March in 30-plus years for Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, respectively, according to WeatherTrends360.
The drier weather should have permitted great progress on second corn crop planting, which has lagged significantly this year. In fact, a large portion of the crop was planted outside the ideal planting window which makes this season’s crop more susceptible to issues later in the season. Later-planted corn runs the risk of maturing as central Brazil’s dry season sets in. Additionally, the later into the season we get, the more risk there is for frost impacts.
Brazil will need sufficient rainfall to continue through at least April to make sure crops can weather the dry season, which typically sets in during May.
Looking ahead, Argentina does not look as wet in the final week of March 2023, week ending on April 1. Showers are still expected, but not as heavy as the previous week. In Brazil, the heaviest rain will once again be focused in the North with precipitation in portions of central Brazil trending near or slightly below normal. Hotter weather will dry soils out more quickly, especially in southern Brazil where this is forecast to be the third hottest final week of March in 30-plus years, according to WeatherTrends360.
