Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Soybean growers in Argentina, the world’s third biggest producer of the oilseed, will probably accelerate sales of their next crop as they seek cash to repay loans, a farm association officer said.

Growers will sell most of their crop in May, compared with sales spread along the four months through August that was usual in past seasons, Julio Curras, vice-president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

The worst drought in a century damaged Argentine soybean crops this year, paring output by almost a third and leaving growers needing funds. About 60 percent of small and medium- sized farmers took loans to fund sowing this year, compared with a usual rate of 40 percent, Curras said from Buenos Aires.

“Many growers are short of cash after having lost most of the 2009 crop to drought,” Curras said. “Farmers are taking credit this year to fund sowing and will be pressed to pay back loans as soon as they start harvesting.”

Next year, growers are set to reap a record crop of as much as 53 million metric tons as rains over drought-stressed soybean farms since early September restore moisture levels in time for planting, Rodolfo Rossi, president of Argentina’s soybean producers association, said Oct. 13.

Argentina soybean growers started sowing this month and will continue until mid-December. Harvesting begins in February, peaks in May and runs through June.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rodrigo Orihuela in Buenos Aires at rorihuela@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 23, 2009 08:29 EDT