(NAFB.com) – Brazil’s farmers are planting a record number of corn and soybean acres for the 2025-2026 crop season. CONAB, Brazil’s food supply and statistics agency, released its first outlook for the new crop cycle and projects an increase in planted area. The expansion is driven by growing domestic demand for biofuels and strong export performance. A University of Illinois Farmdoc article says, despite the expected acreage growth, gross margins for both crops are likely to decline significantly due to rising production costs and lower prices. CONAB predicts Brazil’s soybean acreage will increase by 3.5 percent to 121 million acres. That would be the largest area on record. Like soybeans, corn acreage is expected to expand, jumping four percent to a total of 56 million acres in the initial estimates. While Brazil gains ground in export markets, margins are getting squeezed by rising input costs, lower prices, and high interest rates.
