Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for waiting. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to SLC Agrícola's second quarter of 2021 earnings conference call. Today, to cover us, Mr. Aurélio Pavinato, CEO, and Mr. Ivo Marcon Brum, CFO and Investor Relations Officer. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded, and all participants will be in listen-only mode during the company's presentation. After the company's remarks are concluded, there will be a question and answer section. At that time, further instructions will be given. Should any participant need assistance during this call, please press star zero to reach the operator. Also, today's live webcast, both audio and live stream, may be accessed through SLC Agrícola website at ri.slcagricola.com.br in the investor relations section by clicking on the banner Webcast Second Quarter 2021.
The following presentation is also available to download on the webcast platform. The following information is available in the form of BRL and IFRS, except when otherwise indicated. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of SLC Agrícola management and on information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions because they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions, and other operating factors could also affect the future results of the company and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Now, I will turn the conference over to Mr. Aurélio [Pavinato.] CEO, you may proceed.
Hello. Thank you for participating in SLC Agrícola earnings conference call for the second quarter of 2021. Let's turn to slide three, please. On August 2nd, we announced, through our material fact note, the conclusion of all corporate acts related to the business combination with Terra Santa via the incorporation of shares in Terra Santa by SLC Agrícola. With the conclusion of this important transaction, as already announced, there is a potential to expand our planted area by around 145,000 hectares as of the 2021-2022 crop year. This is further complemented by the incorporation of the Agrícola Xingu, which also was concluded and which will add another 43,000 hectares in potential planted area to our portfolio as of the next crop year.
Those transactions are aligned with our strategic pillar of asset-light growth and involves areas already developed and located close to our existing units and have long-term leasing agreements. We truly believe that the successful execution of our strategy reflects the trust formed by people, technology, and processes. In this context, it's important to note that a key focus of our management has been integrating the people coming from the business combination, and we are very satisfied with the results so far. Let's go to slide five, which shows our operational performance in the 2021 crop year. For soybean, for the fourth straight year, we set a new yield record, which is aligned with our current strategy of focusing on maximizing operating efficiency. The yield was 5.8% higher than our initial projection and 12.5% higher than the national average based on CONAB's estimate in July.
In cotton, as of July 3rd, we have harvested 38% of the total area. Meanwhile, the estimated yield for cotton lint is 1,821 kilograms per hectare, down 1.7% from the initial forecast, but 3.7% higher than in the previous crop year and 4% higher above the national average based on July's estimates from CONAB. Lastly, for second crop corn, with 67% of the area harvested as of July 3rd, the estimated yield is 22.5% below the initial forecast at 5.9 tons per hectare. Even so, the result is 25% above the national average for second crop corn published by CONAB. The lower yield for corn is mainly due to the irregular distribution of precipitation in March and April, especially at farms in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Let's go now to slide seven.
Turning to the commodities market and start with cotton for the 2021, 2022 crop year, a deficit in the supply/demand balance is expected for the second year in a row, which has kept cotton prices between $0.80 and $0.90 per lbs. The expectation of higher cotton consumption with greater clarity on the uncertainties provoked by the pandemic is a factor that has been supporting the expectation of cotton demand surpassing 123 million bales in the 2021, 2022 crop year, according to the USDA, which would be a new record. For soybean, after prices on Chicago Board of Trade surpassed the $16.50 per bushel, prices corrected, which currently stands at around $13.50 per bushel, which is significantly higher than the average prices of the last five years.
The market is currently focused on the weather in the U.S., where extreme and exceptional drought conditions for certain crops could limit production and consequently, the country's soybean supply. However, for the current cycle of 2021, 2022, the supply/demand balance should, after two straight years of tests, register a slight surplus of around 4 million tons, which still must be confirmed by crop performance in the U.S., as well as by the result of planting operations in the southern hemispheres, which have yet to begin. Lastly, in the case of corn, international prices in the second quarter of 2021 also underwent a correction due to the U.S. weather market, although the drought still remains a factor to be monitored.
In Brazil, however, corn prices found more support due to local supply/demand dynamics, mainly the effect from the significantly lower production of safrinha corn, which also led to corn imports from Argentina. In the global scenario, the difference in supply and demand should result in a surplus of 90 million tons after four straight cycles of deficits. I will now pass the call over to my colleague, Ivo Brum, our CFO and IRO, who will go over our financial performance in the quarter.
Hello, everyone. Let's turn to slide nine, please, which shows the highlights of our income statement for the second quarter of 2021. Net revenue grew by 85% in the quarter and by 57% in the first six months against the same period of 2020. The main drivers of the revenue growth were the higher unit price invoices for all crops and the higher volume invoices of cotton and soybean. Adjusted EBITDA in both the second quarter and the year to date set record highs. In the quarter, adjusted EBITDA was BRL 505 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 48%, representing growth of 248% year over year. In the year to date, adjusted EBITDA was BRL 777 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin expanding by 40.2 percentage points to 41.6%.
The strong growth in the adjusted EBITDA in both periods also reflected the higher price and volumes invoices, as well as the effective control of the cost per hectare and the good operational performance, especially for soybean. Net income grew by 134% in the year to date and by 125% in the quarter compared to the prior year periods. In addition to the factors mentioned above, the performance of net income also reflected the dynamics of the recognition of biological assets, giving the expectation of higher margin compared to the last crop year for the portion of the harvest yet to be invoiced. To conclude this section, slide 10 shows our debt position. The end of the first half of 2021, with adjusted net debt of BRL 1.4 billion, represents an increase of BRL 694 million in relation to the end of 2020.
Net debt was affected mainly by the higher working capital needs, which in turn were influenced by the higher payments of the agricultural inputs for 2020 crop year. Note that an increase in debt in this period of the year is expected given the cash conversion cycle of the business. The net debt EBITDA ratio ended the period at 0.99 times. I will now pass the call back over to Pavinato who will comment on the outlook for 2021-2022 crop year.
Thank you, Ivo. Let's turn to slide 12, please. I want to conclude by saying that we have already purchased most of the inputs needed for the 2021-2022 crop year, and as you can see in the table, we already have sold a significant percentage of our estimated production at prices above those obtained in 2021. This percentage already incorporates the estimated production with the added of Terra Santa and Agrícola Xingu. This scenario leaves us optimistic on the outlook for the new crop year and on continuing to deliver very good results. Thank you. Let's now open the call for the questions and answer session.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now initiate the question and answer section. If you would like to ask a question, please dial star one. If at any point your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue by pressing the lbs key. Remembering, if you have a question, please press star one. Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a nice day.