en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Rosario Board of Trade (BCR) reports that the winter wheat planting season in Argentina's core production area concluded with 1.6 million hectares sown, a 12% decrease from last year's final sown area. A week ago, prospects were uncertain due to excessive humidity and muddy conditions preventing access to approximately 100,000 hectares in northern Buenos Aires Province.

Early this week, a strong cold front and dry winds dried out the fields, allowing farmers to complete sowing, including short-cycle varieties that had previously been left unplanted. The extreme low temperatures in the first few days of this month—with minimums ranging from -2 to -8°C in the region, and a low of -8.2°C recorded in the Idiazábal area—were generally beneficial for the crops. In south-central Santa Fe Province and southeastern Córdoba Province, favorable soil moisture and low temperatures are conducive to early crop development.

In some areas such as Baradero and Piedritas, low soil temperatures have led to slower emergence rates compared to previous years, but technicians are not concerned. Some sensitive varieties have shown leaf yellowing, which is currently not a major issue.

The tension point this season lies in costs. Although urea prices have eased in recent weeks, other cost factors continue to squeeze margins: rents, fuel, and the costs of sowing, transportation, and harvesting services have cumulatively risen by over 30% in some areas. In Piedritas, the best fields three or four seasons ago rented for about 14 or 15 quintals of soybeans per hectare; now, contract prices have reached 16 or 17 quintals or even higher. Strong recent yields are supporting robust demand for land, with no willingness to lower prices.