September rains ease drought concerns for Tierra Verde harvest

The past twenty-one days have brought an average of 78 millimetres of rain to the San Vicente region and surrounding cooperative districts, reversing the driest three-month stretch in five years. Farmers who faced wilting coffee plants and stunted yerba mate through July and August are now watching soil moisture climb back toward viable levels for the final weeks before harvest.

The recovery is uneven. Farms at higher elevation in the cooperative zones north of San Vicente received heavier precipitation, while lower valley properties—particularly those around Iguazú district—remain below seasonal normal. The Federal Office for Cooperative Affairs has begun fielding damage-assessment requests from member-farms seeking to document losses for federal crop-insurance claims.

Cooperative leaders say the timing is crucial. With harvest operations set to begin in early October, the rains have bought time for farmers to assess which plants survived the drought intact and which will require replanting in the dormant season. The Cooperative Council in San Vicente convened yesterday to review early yield projections and coordinate with the Federal Treasury on price-floor guarantees for the coming month.