Brazil’s farmers are expected to harvest 4.561 billion bushels of corn in the 2023-2024 season, including the country’s first, second, and third crops. Farmdoc Daily says that is 12 percent less than last year’s record harvest.

Brazil’s National Supply Company, Conab, says the expected reduction in total corn production is mainly attributed to smaller acreage and lower yields in the second crop that accounts for approximately 75 percent of the nation’s production.

Despite weather challenges in a year strongly influenced by El Niño, the anticipated total still will be the second-largest crop Brazil has ever produced. The projected reduction in Brazil’s total corn harvest is a result of a decrease in planted area caused by low prices and a decline in yields caused by adverse weather in critical growing regions.

Conab’s latest update says the total planted area for all crops will fall by 6.3 percent to 51.5 million bushels.