Argentinian farmers' plans to plant wheat are at risk in some parts of the northern Buenos Aires province, with growers considering planting corn or soybeans instead due to muddy conditions preventing farm equipment from entering some fields in the area.
The province's northern and northeastern areas were soaked with more than four inches of rain during mid-to late May, creating sodden fields and uncertainty as to when farmers will be able to plant wheat in parts of country, the Rosario board of trade (RBT) said.
Wheat planting is continuing in other parts of the province and in other regions, though behind last year's pace.
Planting should be able to start in two to three days in some areas, but there is still a lot of waterlogged ground in lower-lying other areas. Farmers say they are running out of time to plant. A few have decided to abandon wheat and are considering soybeans or corn instead, RBT said.
Corn on the rise
Flooded fields are also encouraging farmers to boost corn planting in the upcoming 2025-26 marketing year, according to the board.
The corn planting had been growing in recent years, until a decline in 2024-25 due to a leafhopper infestation in the previous year that cut the country's corn output by nearly 20pc from projections for the marketing year.
A cold winter in 2024 helped drive the bugs out of areas to which they had spread to during 2023-24, reducing their presence in areas where they are endemic. Argentinian agronomists are also now more experienced controlling the pest, contributing to farmers' willingness to plant more corn again.
Rain has also improved soil moisture levels in corn-growing areas, which is likely to spur more planting.
The area sown with corn in the country's so-called agricultural core, an area comprising parts of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces, will rise to an estimated 1.8mn hectares (ha) in 2025-26 from 1.6mn ha in the previous year, according to a RBT survey.
Soybeans, barley
The rainy weather in May also delayed soybean harvesting in the north of Buenos Aires province, though the harvest is close to being finished in most other provinces, according to the economy ministry.
Damp conditions in some fields in Buenos Aires might hurt the quality of the soybeans harvested in those areas, though the ministry said it has yet to evaluate the impact of the excess moisture on the affected crop.
The rain has slowed barley planting in the province as well, though planting began in areas in the east of the province in the past week and continued in the south. Buenos Aires province is by far Argentina's largest producer of the grain, with an estimated 1.4mn ha to be planted in the 2025-26 season, out of a national total of 1.6nm ha, according to the ministry.
