USDA Crop Progress

OMAHA (DTN) -- Good-to-excellent condition ratings for both corn and soybeans declined just slightly last week, according to the USDA National Ag Statistics Service's weekly Crop Progress report released Monday.

Nationwide, 70% of corn was rated good to excellent as of Sunday, Aug. 12, down 1 percentage point from 71% the previous week. Last year at this same time, 62% of the crop was rated good to excellent.

"Corn's good-to-excellent rating drop won't carry as much weight as Friday's 14.59-billion-bushel crop estimate by USDA," said DTN Analyst Todd Hultman.

NASS estimated that 73% of corn was in the dough stage as of Sunday, 17 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 56%. Twenty-six percent of corn was dented, 13 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 13%.

Soybean condition also dropped slightly to 66% good to excellent last week, down 1 percentage point from 67% the previous week. However, as with corn, the slight drop in soybean conditions isn't likely to have much impact on Tuesday's trading, Hultman said.

NASS estimated that 96% of soybeans were blooming as of Sunday, 4 percentage points ahead of the average of 92%, and 84% of soybeans were setting pods, 12 percentage points ahead of the average of 72%.

Meanwhile, NASS estimated that 94% of winter wheat was harvested as of Sunday, behind last year's 97% and also behind the average pace of 96%.

Spring wheat harvest was 35% complete as of Sunday, behind last year's 38% but ahead of the five-year average of 27%.

"The spring wheat crop continues to have its highest good-to-excellent rating since 2010, at 75%," Hultman said. "The high rating comes in spite of a recent stretch of hotter and drier conditions in the Northwestern U.S."

Sorghum was 78% headed as of Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 73%. Sorghum coloring was 37%, near the five-year average of 36%. Sorghum mature was estimated at 21%, equal to last year at the same time but behind the five-year average of 24%. Sorghum condition was rated 49%, unchanged from the previous week.

Barley was 41% harvested as of Sunday, behind 48% last year but ahead of the average of 38%. Barley condition was rated 81% good to excellent, up 2 percentage points from 79% the previous week. Oats were 67% harvested as of Sunday, ahead of 64% for last year and also ahead of the five-year average of 64%.

Rice was 91% headed as of Sunday, near 90% last year but ahead of the average of 83%. Eleven percent of rice was harvested, ahead of the average pace of 9%. Cotton was 96% squaring, behind the average of 98%. Seventy-seven percent of cotton was setting bolls, near the average pace of 78%. Thirteen percent of cotton had bolls opening, ahead of the average of 9%. Cotton's good-to-excellent condition rating, at 40%, was unchanged from the previous week, and rice's good-to-excellent rating, at 69%, was also unchanged from the previous week.

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 Dough	73	57	58	56
Corn Dented	26	12	15	13
Soybeans Blooming	96	92	93	92
Soybeans Setting Pods	84	75	77	72
Cotton Squaring	96	92	97	98
Cotton Setting Bolls	77	60	77	78
Cotton Bolls Opening	13	9	10	9
Sorghum Headed	78	69	73	73
Sorghum Coloring	37	31	30	36
Sorghum Mature	21	20	21	24
Spring Wheat Harvested	35	13	38	27
Winter Wheat Harvested	94	90	97	96
Rice Headed	91	82	90	83
Rice Harvested	11	6	12	9
Barley Harvested	41	16	48	38
Oats Harvested	67	51	64	64

**

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	20	50	20		3	7	19	50	21		3	9	26	49	13
Soybeans	3	7	24	50	16		3	7	23	51	16		3	9	29	49	10
Spring Wheat	1	4	20	62	13		1	5	20	60	14		24	18	25	27	6
Sorghum	5	12	34	42	7		6	12	33	42	7		2	6	28	54	10
Cotton	14	20	26	32	8		11	21	28	32	8		8	4	27	44	17
Rice	1	6	24	57	12		1	7	23	56	13		1	6	22	56	15
Barley	-	3	16	67	14		-	2	19	64	15		9	13	29	39	10

Anthony Greder can be reached at anthony.greder@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @AGrederDTN

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