The US spring wheat harvest continued to ramp up this past week, while the winter wheat harvest is starting to wind down.
According to Monday’s USDA crop progress report, 11% of the American spring wheat crop was in the bin as of Sunday, up 9 points on the week and head of 8% last year but behind the five-year average of 14%. Meanwhile, the winter wheat harvested gained 8 points from a week earlier to reach 87% complete as of Sunday, 2 points ahead of last year but I point behind average.
The harvest in the No. 1 spring wheat state of North Dakota is still just getting underway, with 2% of the state crop in the bin as of Sunday, 5 points behind the average. At 13% complete, the Minnesota harvest advanced 12 points from the previous week but also remains behind the state average of 20%. On the other hand, the Montana harvest jumped 21 points on the week to 22% complete, 7 points ahead of the average. The South Dakota harvest remains the most advanced, with 38% of the crop off as of Sunday, versus 21% a week earlier and 46% on average.
Meanwhile, the condition of the spring wheat crop remains pointed lower amid increasing dryness on the northern Plains. Just 41% of crop was rated good to excellent as of Sunday, down a single point on the week and well below the initial rating of the season in early June of 64% good to excellent.
The condition of the Minnesota crop dropped to 47% good to excellent from 54% the previous week, while the North Dakota crop slipped a single point to 43%. In contrast, the Montana crop improved 4 points on the week to 39%, and South Dakota was up 4 points to 32%.
The winter wheat harvest is complete or nearly complete in most of the biggest production states, including Kansas, where 98% of the crop was off as of Sunday. In Michigan, the harvest advanced 24 points from a week earlier to reach 86 complete, behind 92% last year and 91% on average.
