USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

This article was originally published at 3:17 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 22. It was last updated with additional information at 4:01 p.m. CDT on Monday, May 22.

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- Corn and soybean planting continued ahead of the average pace last week, spring wheat planting accelerated, and winter wheat condition improved slightly, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress Report on Monday.

CORN

-- Planting progress: Corn planting moved ahead 16 percentage points last week, the same pace as the previous week, to reach 81% as of Sunday, May 21. That's still 12 percentage points ahead of last year's 69% and 6 points ahead of the five-year average of 75%. Notable states: Iowa and Illinois are 95% and 91% planted, respectively, and both are ahead of average, noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini. Minnesota corn is 80% planted, Nebraska is 87% and Missouri is 97% planted. North Dakota moved up 27 points to 32% planted compared to the 50% average.

-- Crop progress: 52% of corn had emerged as of Sunday, up 22 percentage points from the previous week and 7 percentage point ahead of the average of 45%.

SOYBEANS

-- Planting progress: Soybean planting sped up slightly last week, moving ahead 17 percentage points last week compared to a 14-percentage-point jump the previous week to reach 66% as of Sunday. That is 19 percentage points ahead of last year's 47% and 14 points ahead of the five-year average of 52%. Notable states: Illinois and Iowa soybeans are at 84% and 85% planted, respectively, Mantini said. North Dakota gained 18 points to 20% planted -- still behind the 33% average. Minnesota is 53% planted and just 4 points behind the average.

-- Crop progress: 36% of soybeans were emerged as of Sunday, 17 percentage points ahead of last year's 19% and 12 points ahead of the average of 24%.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Crop development: 61% of winter wheat was headed nationwide as of Sunday, up 12 percentage points from the previous week and now even with the five-year average. Top-producer Kansas is 73% headed -- just 2 points below average.

-- Crop condition: Nationwide, winter wheat was rated 31% good to excellent, up 2 percentage points from 29% from the previous week and ahead of last year's rating at the same time of 28% good to excellent. Kansas' crop is rated at 10% good to excellent and 69% poor to very poor, while Oklahoma is 10% good to excellent and 52% very poor to poor, Mantini said.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Planting progress: 64% of the spring wheat crop was planted as of Sunday, up 24 percentage points from the previous week and now 9 percentage points behind the five-year average of 73%. Notable states: Minnesota is above the average at 74% planted, while North Dakota is 48% planted compared to the 65% average but moved up 28 points for the week.

-- Crop progress: 32% of spring wheat was emerged as of Sunday, up 19 percentage points from the previous week and 8 percentage points behind the five-year average of 40%.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

More rain is in store for the Plains this week, which will help with drought reduction but could delay planting in some areas, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick. The Eastern Corn Belt is expected to be dry this week.

"This week's weather is almost certainly focused on the Plains," Baranick said. "A weakness in a broad ridge of high pressure across much of North America is settled in the West. It will provide enough energy to produce areas of showers and thunderstorms across the western half of the country. The ridge will provide the warmth and moisture, and areas of showers and thunderstorms will expand across the Plains all week long. These showers may or may not make it into the eastern Plains or western Midwest but will certainly fall over large portions of those areas in deep drought across the Central and Southern Plains. For those yet to plant, it may be a bit difficult. Those in North Dakota, especially, may have the most issues if they cannot get into their fields before the end of the week, but the further reduction in drought should be seen as a positive weather pattern for the country's crops and forages.

"The eastern half of the Corn Belt is going to be much drier, but many of these areas are in good shape with soil moisture at the moment. If the dryness extends well into June, then we can start to worry about them. But not yet.

"Temperatures will be fairly ideal with a lot of 70s and 80s Fahrenheit across the country."

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.

**

Register today for the upcoming DTN Ag Summit Series event, "Crop Updates from the Field." We will visit with farmers from across the country, talk about the latest dicamba and pesticide news and discuss DTN's latest weather and market outlooks. The program begins Tuesday, May 23, at 8:30 a.m. CDT. We understand if you're too busy to attend live. It will be available for replay, however, you must register by the end of the day on May 22 to gain access. Registration is free, and you can find more details here: www.dtn.com/agsummit.

National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn Planted	81	65	69	75
Corn Emerged	52	30	35	45
Soybeans Planted	66	49	47	52
Soybeans Emerged	36	20	19	24
Cotton Planted	45	35	52	50
Winter Wheat Headed	61	49	61	61
Spring Wheat Planted	64	40	48	73
Spring Wheat Emerged	32	13	27	40
Sorghum Planted	33	28	32	33
Barley Planted	70	51	70	80
Barley Emerged	33	16	45	50
Oats Planted	82	70	76	85
Oats Emerged	65	53	56	67
Rice Planted	90	83	89	88
Rice Emerged	76	65	64	66

**

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
Winter Wheat	18	22	29	26	5		18	23	30	25	4		22	18	32	24	4
Oats	5	9	28	53	5		NA	NA	NA	NA	NA		15	11	29	40	5
Rice	-	4	23	60	13		-	4	26	59	11		-	2	28	60	10

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

Follow him on Twitter @AGrederDTN

(c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.