USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

This article was originally published at 3:07 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Sept. 8 It was last updated with additional information at 3:41 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- The U.S. corn harvest kicked off slightly ahead of last year's pace and ahead of the five-year average, according to USDA NASS's weekly Crop Progress report released on Tuesday. The report, which is normally released on Mondays, was delayed this week due to the Labor Day holiday.

A series of frontal systems is expected to bring repeated rounds of rain to the Corn Belt this week, which could slow harvest progress for some.

CORN

-- Crop development: Corn in the dough stage was estimated at 96%, 2 percentage points ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 94%. Corn dented was estimated at 76%, 4 percentage points ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 72%. Corn mature was pegged at 25%, 1 percentage point ahead of last year's 24% and 2 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 23%.

-- Harvest progress: In its first corn harvest report of the season, NASS estimated that 5% of corn has been harvested nationally, 1 percentage point ahead of last year's 4% and 2 points ahead of the five-year average of 3%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 56% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, 1 percentage point below the previous week and 12 percentage points below last year's 68%. Iowa's crop remains the best rated at 77% good to excellent, noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini. Seventeen percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, equal to the previous week and 8 percentage points above the previous year's 9%.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop development: Soybeans dropping leaves were pegged at 26%, 6 percentage points ahead of last year's 20% and 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 20%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 58% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, equal to the previous week and 6 percentage points below the previous year's 64%. As with corn, Iowa was the garden spot with 77% of the state's soybean crop rated good to excellent, according to Mantini. North Dakota was rated at just 28% good to excellent, with 32% rated poor to very poor.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: Spring wheat harvest reached 86% complete as of Sunday. That was 3 percentage points ahead of both last year's pace and the five-year average of 83%.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: NASS reported early progress on winter planting at 2% nationally, 2 percentage points behind last year's 4% and 3 percentage points behind the five-year average of 5%.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick said a series of frontal systems will bring repeated rounds of rain to the Corn Belt in the coming days, though the wet pattern could prove more of a burden than a benefit as harvest season approaches. Meanwhile, drought-stricken winter wheat country in the Plains may see some relief, but not nearly enough.

"We had some slightly active weather last week across Northern areas, and that may have helped out a few areas out there, even if it doesn't show up in the crop condition numbers," Baranick said. "But this week will be wet again for Northern areas. We've got a front moving through midweek with scattered showers across the Corn Belt that may get some showers farther south as well. Another front will move through the Northern Plains on Friday and sweep across the Corn Belt over the weekend as it settles in for a couple of days. Then, another system will form along that front in the Central Plains on Sunday and move northeast through the Corn Belt into next week, producing more areas of rain. The rain may not help with crop conditions and may be more of a hindrance for some areas already looking to start harvest.

"For some of the hard red winter wheat areas in the Central and Southern Plains, the rain will be nice to see, but it isn't looking like a whole lot. With how much drought there is, it could ease some of that concern a bit in some areas, but we need a lot more rain to feel good about winter wheat planting and establishment. The good news is that the long-range forecast does favor these areas, so maybe producers will push the planters out there anyway. Otherwise, it'll be quite hot yet across the South. A front will remove the extreme heat over the next few days, but it will still be above normal going into next 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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National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn dough	96	92	94	94
Corn dented	76	62	72	72
Corn mature	25	13	24	23
Corn harvested	5	NA	4	3
Soybeans dropping leaves	26	13	20	20
Winter wheat planted	2	NA	4	5
Spring wheat harvested	86	77	83	83
Cotton setting bolls	96	89	96	96
Cotton bolls opening	40	29	38	38
Cotton harvested	7	NA	7	6
Sorghum headed	94	89	97	96
Sorghum coloring	68	54	69	69
Sorghum mature	41	29	36	33
Sorghum harvested	20	17	20	20
Oats harvested	98	94	93	93
Barley harvested	90	77	85	85
Rice harvested	50	38	43	38

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National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
	VP	P	F	G	E
Corn
This Week	6	11	27	42	14
Prev Week	6	11	26	44	13
Prev Year	3	6	23	49	19
DTN 5-Yr Avg	5	10	26	46	13
Soybeans
This Week	4	9	29	46	12
Prev Week	4	9	29	46	12
Prev Year	3	7	26	50	14
DTN 5-Yr Avg	4	10	28	47	11
Rice
This Week	1	3	23	56	17
Prev Week	0	3	26	55	16
Prev Year	0	3	23	55	19
DTN 5-Yr Avg	1	3	22	58	17
Peanuts
This Week	1	8	29	55	7
Prev Week	1	7	29	54	9
Prev Year	1	6	28	54	11
DTN 5-Yr Avg	2	8	32	51	7
Cotton
This Week	11	21	34	29	5
Prev Week	11	21	29	33	6
Prev Year	2	9	35	46	8
DTN 5-Yr Avg	12	17	30	34	6

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

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