Dry Weather to Bring Relief to Argentina’s Soggy Farmlands

By Maximilian Heath

BUENOS AIRES, May 21 – Dry weather conditions in the coming days will help air out Argentina’s muddy fields, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Wednesday, after heavy storms flooded the already behind-schedule soybean crop.

Fierce rains washed out the north of Buenos Aires province at the end of last week, with the exchange warning that it may need to cut its estimates for the soybean harvest. Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal.

The exchange currently pegs 2024/25 output of soy at 50 million metric tons. But with the harvest running late, farmers risk losing crops due to disease caused by the rains or pods opening.

The exchange forecasts little to no rainfall over most of Argentina’s agricultural heartland over the next several days, after up to 400 mm of precipitation was dumped on the area, the exchange said in its weekly weather report.

As fields dry out, farmers will need to rush to rake in the rest of the soybean crop. They are also set to kick off planting wheat for the 2025/26 season.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aurora Ellis)