Scattered rains give patchy relief to Argentine corn

* More showers forecast for Monday, rains patchy so far
* Argentine corn, soy fields panting after weeks of drought
* Concern about world food supplies, local gov't finances

By Hugh Bronstein
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Storms were forecast for Argentina on
Monday after patchy weekend rains failed to moisten many corn and soy fields
nearly ruined by a drought that has raised concerns about world food supplies.
Weeks of dryness in Argentina, the worlds' No. 2 corn exporter and No. 3
supplier of soybeans, could also strain government finances this year as the
country tries to dodge fallout from Europe's debt crisis and slackening demand
from key trade partners Brazil and China.
Corn and soy growers had been hoping for showers on Saturday and Sunday that
would moisten fields dried out by weeks of unforgiving Southern Hemisphere
summer sun. But the rain was patchy, leaving many fields dry while refreshing
others.
The National Meteorological Service on Monday called for showers and storms
in parts of Argentina's top farming provinces, Buenos Aires and Cordoba. "It is
forecast that during the day some of the storms could be locally intense,
accompanied by strong wind, abundant rain and occasional hail," the state
weather service said in a statement.
It will already be too late for many corn fields, where plants have roasted
to nothing, dashing hopes that Argentina might replenish global supplies
depleted by a lackluster U.S. harvest. Soy, which is more resistant to drought
thanks to its longer flowering period, has suffered as well.
Argentina's weather has contributed to price increases on the Chicago grains
futures market in recent weeks, as traders factor in the threat of lower than
expected supply.

Corn yields will be slashed by 20 to 50 percent due to the dryness, the
government said last week after the Rosario grains exchange cut its 2011/12 corn
crop forecast by nearly 18 percent to 21.4 million tonnes..
Until this month, Argentine farmers were sure that the harvest would beat
last season's record 23 million tonnes.
The country's corn area is centered on the town of Pergamino, in the
northern part of Buenos Aires province.
"In places like Pergamino they got scattered rains over the weekend. So some
guys got enough, like 20 or 50 millimeters, but in other places they got two to
five millimeters," Martin Fraguio, executive director of Argentina's main corn
industry chamber Maizar.
"We had very good rains on Saturday, but when you look at the map you see
that between the good rainfall there were a lot of areas where the rain was
scarce," he added. "It's the scatteredness that has kept some farms out of the
picture."
Buenos Aires-based consultancy Finsoport says Argentina's farm exports in
the 2011/12 crop year will total $26.3 billion, down 12 percent from forecasts
made before the drought. The government will lose more than $1 billion in
revenue as a consequence, it said.
Fernandez, who started her second four-year term last month after an easy
October re-election, has had a troubled relationship with the farm sector.
Growers complain about her state-centric policies, including corn export curbs
and a whopping 35-percent tax on soy exports.
But tempers have cooled since Fernandez's government was rocked in 2008 by
massive farm protests over her tax policies. The agriculture minister has met
with growers this month to discuss possible aid programs to soothe the drought's
impact.

(additional reporting by Nicolas Misculin)