Porto Alegre consultancy Safras & Mercado announced on Monday that the weather has improved in the Center-West of Brazil last week. The rains allowed an advance of the soybean planting to 46% of the projected surface in Brazil. On October 31, the crop progress was at 22%. By the same period of 2013, planting had reached 59% in the area.

If there is one region in the world that could possibly compete with the U.S. as the world’s supplier of corn and soybeans, that would be South America. There has been a significant surface expansion (mostly in Brazil and Argentina) in the last three decad

Brazilians went to the polls Sunday and reelected incumbent Dilma Roussef in a tight race with less than 4% of margin. Roussef will stay four more years as the president of the largest country of Latin America.

When the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would ease its stimulus program and by sometime raise interest rates, that decision brought several changes to the general outlook of the world's economy. The U.S. dollar, according to some analysts, tends to be stronger around the world. In the case of South America, the top America competitor at the international grain supply, currencies may devalue even more because of local issues. 

The USDA reveals that China imported a volume of 84,000 tons of sorghum in 2011/2012. Just two years later, during the 2013/2014, the Asian giant imported 3.4 million tons.

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Agriculture.com)--It may sound surprising for some in the U.S., but farmers in Brazil will increase the soybean area and expect a new record crop, according to producers attending this week's ag expo in the southern part of the country.

For the 2014/15 crop season that starts this month, Celeres consultancy puts an early forecast of production of 91.35 million tons of soybeans. This would be a 6% hike compared to the current crop.

in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, corn and soybean growers should be cautious with the variation of rains and weather patterns, according to one ag meteorologist.

Approximately 39% of grain farmers in Argentina will need to finance the next crop. The trend is that soybean stocks start to be sold faster soon, so that they get can the money to buy the inputs.