USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

This article was originally published at 3:04 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, May 26. It was last updated with additional information at 3:45 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, May 26.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- U.S. soybean planting continues to run ahead of both last year's pace and the five-year average, according to USDA NASS's weekly Crop Progress report released on Tuesday. The report is normally released on Mondays but was delayed this week due to Memorial Day.

Much of the U.S. is expected to see favorable weather this week as wetter areas turn drier, dry areas receive needed rainfall, and warmer conditions in the north help advance planting and early crop growth, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

CORN

-- Planting progress: 86% of corn was planted nationwide as of Sunday, steady with last year's pace and 3 points ahead of the five-year average of 83%. Illinois was 86% planted while Iowa reached 94% planted, DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini said.

-- Crop development: 60% of corn had emerged as of Sunday, 5 points behind last year's 65% and 2 points ahead of the five-year average of 58%.

SOYBEANS

-- Planting progress: An estimated 79% of intended soybean acreage was planted as of Sunday, 4 points ahead of last year at this time and 11 points ahead of the five-year average of 68%. Illinois and Iowa soybean planting reached 84% and 90%, respectively, Mantini said.

-- Crop development: 49% of soybeans had emerged as of Sunday, 1 point ahead of last year's pace and 9 points ahead of the five-year average of 40%.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Crop condition: An estimated 44% of winter wheat was rated poor to very poor as of May 24, up 1 percentage point from 43% a week ago, according to NASS.

-- Crop development: 78% of winter wheat was headed nationwide as of Sunday. That's 5 percentage points ahead of last year's 73% and 8 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 70%. Top winter-wheat-producer Kansas' crop was 97% headed, 5 points ahead of last year at this time and 10 points ahead of the five-year average.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Planting progress: 86% of the crop was planted nationwide as of May 24, steady with last year's pace and 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 79%. Spring wheat planting reached 98% in Idaho, South Dakota, and Washington, while Montana and North Dakota trailed at 83%.

-- Crop development: 56% of spring wheat was emerged as of Sunday, 2 percentage points behind last year's pace of 58% and 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 51%.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

Much of the U.S. is expected to see favorable weather this week as wetter areas dry out and drier regions receive needed rainfall, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"This week looks like a good week of weather for much of the U.S.," Baranick said. "Areas that had been wet look to be a bit drier and areas that have been too dry are getting at least some chance to be wet this week. It's not perfect for everyone, but we've got a lot of good weather news for this week.

"For one, a front is going to waffle around across the southern tier all week and weekend, producing daily showers and thunderstorms. Drought has been extensive but considering this front has already produced some good rainfall and will continue that this week, there's optimism for building soil moisture and reducing that drought significantly. Really that goes from Texas and Oklahoma through the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic and everywhere in between, including the Tennessee Valley. We may have to worry about some flooding occurring in these areas, but the rainfall should outweigh the flood concerns.

"Dry areas up and down the Plains have needed some rain for a while and are finally in a position to get some. A system is in the Pacific Northwest to start the week and will sit there for many days, lifting north into the Canadian Prairies this weekend. That system will bring up some good moisture from the south to produce daily showers and thunderstorms as well. The High Plains are favored over some of the eastern areas for once, improving conditions there, while it may not be storming in areas like the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, or Kansas as much as it is farther west. To me, that's great news for those with forages and summer crops, helping to boost soil moisture and reduce those rainfall deficits. It may not be in time to count on this week's drought monitor, but it should get us some reductions for next week.

"And the Midwest should be largely dry as well. They'll see some showers moving up from the south for a couple of days, and another front will bring some isolated showers to the north on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, drier conditions here will help some areas that are a bit too wet to dry out, and get some warmth into the north to help speed along what remains of planting and start getting emergence and early growth going a little faster as well."

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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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National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn planted	86	76	86	83
Corn emerged	60	39	65	58
Soybeans planted	79	67	75	68
Soybeans emerged	49	32	48	40
Winter wheat headed	78	71	73	70
Spring wheat planted	86	73	86	79
Spring wheat emerged	56	39	58	51
Cotton planted	53	41	50	53
Sorghum planted	36	30	38	37
Oats planted	95	87	94	90
Oats emerged	79	62	80	74
Oats headed	25	NA	28	24
Barley planted	90	81	81	82
Barley emerged	67	49	56	55
Rice planted	93	88	92	93
Rice emerged	78	74	81	78
Sunflowers planted	27	6	22	17
Peanuts planted	60	41	66	65

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National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
	VP	P	F	G	E
Winter Wheat
This Week	18	26	30	22	4
Prev Week	18	25	30	22	5
DTN 5-Yr Avg	14	17	31	32	6
Rice
This Week	1	3	23	56	17
Prev Week	0	2	24	59	15
DTN 5-Yr Avg	1	3	22	59	16
Oats
This Week	8	14	34	40	4
Prev Week	8	15	31	42	4
DTN 5-Yr Avg	7	9	29	48	6
Barley
This Week	0	6	52	40	2
Prev Week	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
DTN 5-Yr Avg	8	15	30	42	5

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

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