Brazil’s strong grain prospects and market developments call for U.S. growers’ attention

By Guilherme Signorini, Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Crop Science

Happy New Year, fellow OCJ reader! I’m just back from a short visit to Brazil, where I witnessed the development of an outstanding grain season. Weather conditions are stable in most production regions, which may indeed lead the country to a new soybean production record. The oilseed crops around the State of Sao Paulo (SP) and Mato Grosso (MT) are beautiful. Early planted areas are filling pods and approaching harvesting in MT. Soybean plants bloom in SP. As a consequence, CONAB maintained the soybean and corn production projections at 166 million metric tons (MMTs) and 119 MMTs, respectively, in its December 2024 report. The USDA reduced its highly optimistic projection for Brazil’s soybean from 169 MMTs to 165 MMTs, which is still above the production record of 162 MMT. My analysis and conversations with Brazilian growers tell me that both agencies made the right decisions this time around.… Continue reading