Freeze in Midwest stokes soybean replanting concerns: sources

New Delhi — The unseasonal freeze across the Midwest during the last weekend could injure emerging soybean crops, which in turn might force farmers to replant in coming weeks, market sources said.

While the freezing air temperatures may not have much impact on planted soy seeds, it can cause irreversible damage to emerging soy saplings.

Farmers in the Midwest — the top soybean-producing region in the US — are still inspecting the soy crop damage and replanting prospects, sources said.

Soybean replanting period in the US could not extend beyond May, an agro analyst said. Delayed soybean planting in June could make the beans crop vulnerable to weather extremes, dry summer, and winter freeze.

Soybean planting generally begins by mid-April in the US, with sowing starting in the Midwest in late April after recovering from the winter freeze and wet soil.

US farmers have planted 53% of the intended soybean acreage of 83.5 million acres for 2020-2021 marketing year through May 17, which is up 37 percentage points from the previous year and 15 percentage points above the five-year average, the US Department of Agriculture's crop progress report, released Monday, showed.

So far, 18% of the planted soybeans in the US have emerged, compared with 4% last year and a 12% average in the last five years, the USDA data showed.

While in the Midwest, Nebraska, and Iowa lead in the soybean emergence pace at 29% and 25%, up 21 and 17 percentage points, respectively, on the five-year average.

Almost all of the Midwestern states planted soybeans at a pace above the five-year average despite wet soil and rains last week, market sources said. Farmers are taking a risk on the expectation that soil moisture will be favorable in the coming weeks.

There could be heavy rainfall in central and southern Midwest in the coming days, which could delay the soy planting progress.

Rains in the eastern Midwest early this week will stall corn and soybean planting, while drier weather in the western Midwest through mid-week will favor planting there, weather agency Maxar said Monday.

Soybean seeds need higher soil temperatures to germinate, while water-logged soil delays crop development.

US soybean output is projected at 112.26 million mt in 2020-2021, up 17% year on year, assuming no severe weather disruptions, the USDA said in its May supply-and-demand report.

Inclement weather in the coming weeks could lower the US soybean projected acreage and production drastically, market sources said.