USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

Corn, Soybean Conditions Down From Last Crop Progress Report

Brian Ethridge
By  Brian Ethridge , Marketing Editor
(DTN photo illustration by Nick Scalise)

This article was originally posted at 3:05 p.m. CST. It was updated at 5:27 p.m.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- Corn and soybean conditions were slightly downgraded by USDA in its latest weekly Crop Progress report.

U.S. corn condition was rated 64% good to excellent, down 1 percentage point from 65% the previous week, and down 8 percentage points from this time last year.

"That is the sixth best rating in 12 years for this time of year," DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman pointed out. "A big 8-point gain in Michigan was more than offset by an 8-point loss in North Dakota and losses in other states, such as Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas."

USDA pegged corn silking at 79%, as of Sunday, July 25. That puts the current silking pace 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 52%. Corn in the dough stage was also running just slightly ahead of normal at 18% compared to the average of 17%.

Soybean condition was rated 58% good to excellent, down 2 percentage points from 60% the previous week, and down 14 percentage points from this time last year.

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"Crop rating gains in Michigan, Missouri and Illinois were no match for losses in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and the Dakotas," Hultman added.

Development of the soybean crop was running slightly ahead of the average pace, too. NASS estimated that 76% of the crop was blooming as of Sunday, 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average. Soybeans setting pods was pegged at 42%, 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.

USDA had spring wheat condition rated 9% good to excellent, as of Sunday, July 25. That's 2 percentage points lower than last week and down a whopping 61 percentage points from this time last year.

"That's still the lowest rating since 1988," DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini said. "The portion of the crop rated as poor to very poor rose by 3 percentage points to 66% poor to very poor. The good-to-excellent rating in Minnesota fell 2 percentage points last week to 9%, while North Dakota's rating is 11% and South Dakota just 5% good to excellent. North Dakota is 61% poor to very poor, while South Dakota is 69% poor to very poor. Washington spring wheat is an abysmal 88% poor to very poor."

Ninety-seven percent of the spring wheat crop was headed, equal to the five-year average.

Meanwhile, winter wheat harvest has passed the five-year average of 81% for this time of year, reaching 84% complete as of Sunday, July 25.

"Kansas is 98% harvested, Nebraska is 88% harvested and South Dakota is 71% harvested," Mantini said.

The following are some other highlights from this week's Crop Progress report:

Sorghum headed was 42%, equal with the five-year average. Sorghum coloring was pegged at 20%, 1 percentage point behind average. Sorghum condition was rated 66% good to excellent, down 2 percentage points.

Cotton squaring was 78%, 6 percentage points behind the average. Cotton setting bolls was 37%, 5 percentage points behind the average pace. Cotton condition was rated 61% good to excellent, up 1 percentage points from the previous week.

Rice was 44% headed, 5 percentage points behind the average pace. Rice condition was rated 73% good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from the previous week.

Oats were rated 36% in good-to-excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. Barley was 96% headed, equal to the five-year average. Barley condition was rated 22% good to excellent, down 5 percentage points from the previous 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.

National Crop Progress Summary
This Last Last 5-Year
Week Week Year Avg.
Corn Silking 79 56 79 73
Corn Dough 18 8 20 17
Soybeans Blooming 76 63 74 71
Soybeans Setting Pods 42 23 40 36
Cotton Squaring 78 69 82 83
Cotton Setting Bolls 37 23 40 42
Winter Wheat Harvested 84 73 80 81
Spring Wheat Headed 97 92 96 97
Sorghum Headed 42 33 43 42
Sorghum Coloring 20 17 20 21
Oats Harvested 31 18 30 29
Barley Headed 96 90 95 96
Rice Headed 44 30 41 49
National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
This Week Last Week Last Year
VP P F G E VP P F G E VP P F G E
Corn 3 7 26 49 15 2 7 26 50 15 2 5 21 55 17
Soybeans 3 9 30 47 11 3 8 29 49 11 1 5 22 57 15
Spring Wheat 32 34 25 8 1 29 34 26 10 1 2 4 24 60 10
Cotton 1 7 31 50 11 2 7 31 49 11 3 13 35 40 9
Sorghum 2 6 26 55 11 1 5 26 57 11 2 9 36 42 11
Oats 19 21 33 30 6 9 21 35 29 6 3 9 27 52 9
Barley 19 32 27 18 4 17 25 31 23 4 1 3 16 56 24
Rice 1 3 23 57 16 1 3 24 55 17 - 3 21 57 19

Brian Ethridge can be reached at Brian.Ethridge@dtn.com

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Brian Ethridge