USDA Crop Progress: Corn Rated 67% Good to Excellent; Soybeans 64% Good to Excellent as of July 5

This article was originally published at 3:05 p.m. CDT on Monday, July 6. It was last updated with additional information at 3:47 p.m. CDT on Monday, July 6.

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OMAHA (DTN) — U.S. corn good-to-excellent condition ratings were unchanged while soybean good-to-excellent condition ratings declined from the previous week, according to USDA NASS’s weekly Crop Progress report released Monday.

After a week of extreme heat followed by widespread rain and thunderstorms, weather conditions are shifting toward milder temperatures and continued precipitation across much of the Corn Belt, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

CORN

— Crop development: Corn silking was pegged at 16%, 1 percentage point behind last year’s 17% and 2 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 14%. Corn in the dough stage was estimated at 3%, steady with last year and slightly ahead of the five-year average of 2%.

— Crop condition: NASS estimated that 67% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, steady with the previous week and 7 points below last year’s 74%. Eight percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, steady with the previous week and 3 points above the previous year’s 5%. DTN Lead Analyst Rhett Montgomery noted that top-producing state Iowa remained a leader at 78% good to excellent, while second-ranked Illinois saw its good-to-excellent rating fall again to 58%/

SOYBEANS

— Crop development: Soybeans blooming was pegged at 34%, 4 points ahead of last year’s 30% and 6 points ahead of the five-year average of 28%. Soybeans setting pods were estimated at 9%, 2 points ahead of last year’s 7% and 3 points ahead of the five-year average of 6%.

— Crop condition: NASS estimated that 64% of soybeans that had emerged were in good-to-excellent condition, 1 point below the previous week of 65% and 2 points below the previous year of 66%. North Dakota and Michigan posted the largest weekly declines, with each state’s good-to-excellent rating falling 10 percentage points, while top-producing Illinois saw its ratings improve, Montgomery said.

WINTER WHEAT

— Harvest progress: Harvest moved ahead 11 percentage points last week to reach 59% complete nationwide as of Sunday. That was 8 points ahead of last year and the five-year average of 51%. Kansas’ winter wheat was 91% harvested, Indiana was 61% and Oklahoma was 98%. Despite USDA forecasting the smallest U.S. winter wheat crop in 61 years, harvest remains ahead of the average pace for early July, Montgomery said.

— Crop condition: An estimated 26% of winter wheat was rated good to excellent as of July 5, steady with the previous week and 22 points below 48% a year ago, according to NASS.

SPRING WHEAT

— Crop development: Fifty-four percent of spring wheat was headed, 4 points behind last year’s pace of 58% and steady with the five-year average.

— Crop condition: NASS estimated that 57% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition nationwide, down 2 points from 59% the previous week.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

An active weather pattern featuring scattered showers, thunderstorms and milder temperatures is expected to continue across much of the country this week, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

“Last week’s heatwave ended with a lot of widespread rain and thunderstorms across the country.,” Baranick said. “Either due to the heat or some flooding and storm damage, there could be a drop in ratings this week. However, in the long run, I think the widespread moisture we saw will go further as we see more corn and soybeans head into pollination over the next couple of weeks. And the rain won’t really stop this week, either.

“Last weekend’s storm system has settled into the South and Southeast and will be producing scattered showers and thunderstorms for the first half of the week, which may include some areas of the southern Midwest as well. In addition, a front moving through the Northern Plains will move into the Upper Midwest on Monday, and slow-walk across the northern tier of the country through Thursday, producing showers and thunderstorms as it does. At the end of the week, we are expecting another little system to form on that front and move showers across central and southern areas of the country through the weekend. Though we won’t see rain everywhere, all areas east of the Rockies have at least a chance for rain this week. Meanwhile, temperatures will be a bit milder than last week for just about everywhere as well. It will still feel like summer with a lot of 80s and lower 90s, but the extreme heat will be limited mostly to far southern areas this week.”

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To view weekly crop progress reports issued by National Ag Statistics Service offices in individual states, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/. Look for the U.S. map in the “Find Data and Reports by” section and choose the state you wish to view in the drop-down menu. Then look for that state’s “Crop Progress & Condition” report.

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Editor’s Note: How are your crops looking? Are they better, worse or right on track with USDA NASS’ observations this week? Send us your comments, and we’ll include them in next week’s Crop Progress report story. You can email comments to talk@dtn.com. Please include the location of where you farm.

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EllaMae Reiff can be reached at ellamae.reiff@dtn.com

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