The condition of the 2026 U.S. spring wheat crop improved over the past week, while the winter wheat harvest advanced rapidly and crop ratings remained far below last year.
Monday’s USDA crop progress report rated 55% of the national spring wheat crop in good to excellent condition as of Sunday, up 3 percentage points from the previous week but 2 points below the 57% rated good to excellent a year ago.
In North Dakota, the largest spring wheat-producing state, the crop remained at 61% good to excellent. Minnesota improved 4 points to a strong 90%, while South Dakota slipped 2 points to 50%.
Montana recorded the largest improvement, with its spring wheat rating climbing 9 points to 19% good to excellent. However, 70% of the state’s crop was still rated only fair and another 11% was poor.
Spring wheat emergence reached 95%, up from 87% the previous week and ahead of both 88% last year and the five-year average of 89%. Six per cent of the crop was headed, compared with 4% last year and 5% on average.
The winter wheat harvest surged to 25% complete, up from 11% a week earlier and well ahead of 9% last year and the 13% average.
Oklahoma was 73% harvested, compared with 44% the previous week. Texas advanced to 75% from 35%. In the largest production state of Kansas, the harvest jumped 23 points to 28% complete as of Sunday, 20 points ahead of average.
Winter wheat conditions improved modestly, with 27% of the crop rated good to excellent, up 2 points from the previous week but far below 52% a year earlier.
Kansas remained at just 14% good to excellent, while Oklahoma held at 9% and Texas remained at 12%. Michigan improved 5 points to 58%, while Ohio edged 1 point higher to 64%.
The winter wheat crop was 95% headed, up from 92% a week earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 91%.
