U.S. corn conditions deteriorated noticeably this past week, while soybean ratings slipped only slightly.
Monday’s USDA crop progress report showed 57% of the U.S. corn crop rated good to excellent as of Sunday, down 3 points from a week earlier and well below the 71% rated good to excellent at the same point last year. Soybean conditions slipped 1 point to 60% good to excellent, compared to 69% a year ago.
Iowa’s corn condition held steady at 78% good to excellent. Illinois slipped 1 point to 58%, while Indiana edged 1 point higher to 62%. Soybean ratings were relatively stable across the same states. Illinois remained unchanged at 59% good to excellent, and Indiana held steady at 61%, while Iowa declined 1 point to 77%.
Michigan corn dropped 3 points to 55% good to excellent, while Ohio fell 5 points to 61% and North Dakota slipped 2 points to just 31%. Soybeans followed a similar pattern. Michigan declined 1 point to 48% good to excellent, Ohio fell 3 points to 58%, and North Dakota dropped 7 points to 27%.
Despite the decline in condition ratings, corn development continued to run ahead of normal. An estimated 86% of the crop had reached the dough stage as of Sunday, up from 76% a week earlier and above the five-year average of 82%. Corn dented jumped to 45% from 29% the previous week, also ahead of the 41% average. An estimated 6% of the crop was mature, up from 4% a week earlier and matching both last year and the five-year average.
Soybean development also remained ahead of normal, with 91% of the crop setting pods, up from 85% the previous week and above the five-year average of 88%. About 6% of soybeans were dropping leaves, compared with the normal pace of 4%.
