As expected, the condition of the US corn and soybean crops improved this past week in the wake of more moderate temperatures and improving rainfall.
Monday’s USDA crop progress report put the nationwide corn crop at 57% good to excellent as of Sunday, up 2 points from a week earlier. The soybean crop also saw a 2-point gain on the week to improve to 54% good to excellent.
After last week’s more crop-friendly conditions, more rain was falling today, with significant amounts in the eastern Corn Belt, from Illinois to Ohio. Over the last several days, sometimes heavy rain also fell across the western and southwestern production regions.
Crops in Illinois saw marked improvement, with the condition of the state corn crop up 9 points on the week to 58% good to excellent, while the state soybean crop gained a hefty 12 points from a week earlier to an identical 58% good to excellent. In late June, the condition of the Illinois corn and soybean crops bottomed out at just 26% and 25% good to excellent.
The Indiana corn crop inched up a single point on the week to 64% good to excellent as of Sunday, with the soybean crop holding steady at 65%. The Iowa corn crop was unchanged from a week earlier at 59% good to excellent, while the soybean crop dipped 2 points to 53%.
In Michigan, the condition of the corn crop was up 2 points from a week earlier to 46% good to excellent, but the soybean crop was down a single point at 42%. At 73% and 67% good to excellent, the Ohio corn and soybean crops were each up 4 points. The North Dakota corn crop was also up 4 points from the previous week, improving to 61% good to excellent, but the soy crop lost 1 point to 43%.
Across the country, 93% of the corn crop was silking as of Sunday, up from 84% a week earlier and 2 points ahead of average. Nearly half (47%) of the corn crop had reached the dough stage, versus 46% on average, while 8% had dented, on par with the average.
The national soybean crop was reported at 90% blooming as of Sunday, up 3 points on the week and 3 points ahead of the average. Exactly two-thirds of the soy crop was podding, up from 50% a week earlier and 3 points ahead of average.
