Cool, dry weather that firmed up sodden fields in some areas aided Argentinian farmers' work over the past week, allowing wheat planting and corn harvesting to advance and permitting the soybean harvest to finish.
Wheat planting progressed by 5.5 percentage points in the week through 2 July, reaching 78.2pc complete, according to the Buenos Aires grain exchange Bage. Though rains in the second half of June slowed planting in some areas, windy weather and a lack of precipitation in the last seven days improved field conditions in areas that just a week earlier were still waterlogged.
Heavy downpours in the second half of May flooded fields in northern and eastern Buenos Aires province. The province is Argentina's biggest producer of wheat, soybeans and barley, and the soaked fields and rural roads left behind by the storms complicated the work of farm equipment and the transportation of harvested soybeans and corn.
Wheat planting in Argentina's so-called agricultural core, composed of some of the most fertile parts of the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Cordoba, reached 90pc finished, the Rosario board of trade RBT said.
The recent cold weather slowed the emergence of planted wheat, but expectations are still for high yields because of soil moisture levels in many areas, RBT said. As long as the weather remains favorable and there are no crop diseases or frosts, the outlook for production is favorable.
Corn harvesting
The corn harvest reached 61.7pc finished as of 2 July, an advance of 6.4 percentage points from a week earlier, Bage said.
Sodden fields continued to slow harvesting in some parts of Buenos Aires province, but yields have been good, with a national average of 7.6 metric tonnes/hectare (t/ha). Bage maintained its estimate for production of 49mn t of corn.
Yields have been better than expected earlier this season, after a drought in late 2024 and early 2025, RBT said. An infestation of leafhoppers that slashed yields last year added to concerns about yields this year.
But precipitation starting in mid-February and effective measures this year to control the spread of leafhoppers helped boost yields for late-planted corn, according to RBT. Early corn in the Buenos Aires province produced yields of only about 6.5-7.5 t/ha, while late corn in the same region had yields of 7.5-10.5 t/ha.
Soybean harvest nearly done
Argentinian farmers virtually finished their soybean harvesting work in the week through 2 July, with only a few small areas remaining unharvested, Bage said.
The average yield at the national level was the second highest in the past five cycles, at 3 t/ha, and Bage maintained its estimate for production of 50.3mn t.
Barley planting progress is uneven across the Buenos Aires province, according to the economy ministry. The province is by far the country's biggest producer of the grain. In areas where planting is almost finished, the crop is already emerging in good conditions, though some parts of the province will need more rain to sustain growth.
Intense cold has slowed emergence in other parts of the province, while muddy fields have delayed planting in others, the ministry said. The cold weather, frosts and even snow in some spots in the province have so far caused no damage.
