Argentina crops still hampered by dry soil

Argentine farmers anxious to seed corn and sunflower seeds were still waiting for a significant rainfall by the end of last week, the government said on Tuesday in its weekly crop report.
Much of the farming heartland has suffered dry weather in recent weeks. Rains were expected to bring relief to some areas between Friday and Tuesday.
By Friday, Argentine farmers had sown 26 percent of the 3.08 million hectares they are forecast to plant with 2004/05 corn, lagging last year's pace by 5 percentage points.
Rains last week in eastern Cordoba, the No 1 corn producer, moistened the soil enough for plantings to resume. But seedings are at a standstill in much of the rest of the province, the government reported.
Dry soils are also impeding progress on corn plantings in Buenos Aires province and in south-central Santa Fe, which are the No 2 and No 3 corn producers. In some parts of northern Santa Fe, farmers have successfully seeded corn.
The US Department of Agriculture foresees Argentina's 04/05 corn output reaching 15.5 million tonnes. The government has yet to release a forecast.
Dry weather has also halted the planting of 2004/05 sunflower seeds. Farmers have seeded just 14 percent of the 1.83 million hectares forecast to be planted, lagging last year's pace by 16 percentage points.
"The pace of seeding is slow because of the lack of moisture. It only picked up in those specific areas that received precipitation, such as the (northern) province of Chaco," the government report stated.
By Friday, rains were still urgently needed for wheat plants in northern Cordoba and Santa Fe provinces, the No 2 and No 3 wheat producers. In both provinces, some lands planted with wheat are being used now as pasture.
Wheat yields are seen falling in northern Santa Fe in particular, the government reported. In top producer Buenos Aires province, where more than 50 percent of wheat is seeded, the crop is faring better but rains are still needed in the short term to ensure it develops properly, the government said.
Last month, wheat farmers finished seeding the new crop on 6.2 million hectares, an area 200,000 hectares greater than in the prior growing season.