The U.S. winter wheat harvest moved past the halfway mark last week, while winter wheat conditions held steady and spring wheat ratings slipped slightly, according to Monday’s USDA crop progress report.
The winter wheat harvest reached 59% complete as of Sunday, July 5, up 11 percentage points from 48% a week earlier. Progress was ahead of the 51% reported a year earlier and the 51% five-year average.
In Kansas, the largest winter wheat-producing state, harvest advanced sharply to 91% complete, up from 72% the previous week and well ahead of 78% last year and the 74% average. Oklahoma was 98% harvested, unchanged from the previous week but ahead of its 91% average. Texas moved to 89% complete, up from 82% a week earlier and ahead of both last year and the average.
In the Soft Red Winter states, Ohio harvest progress jumped to 44% complete, up from just 7% the previous week and close to its 46% average. Michigan reached 9% harvested, up from 1% a week earlier and slightly ahead of the 7% average.
National winter wheat conditions were unchanged from the previous week, with 26% of the crop rated good to excellent. That remained far below the 48% rated good to excellent a year earlier. Kansas held at just 14% good to excellent, while Oklahoma remained at 9% and Texas at 12%. Michigan declined to 59% good to excellent from 66% a week earlier, while Ohio improved to 70%, up from 67%.
Meanwhile, the condition of the U.S. spring wheat crop slipped to 57% good to excellent, down from 59% the previous week but still above the 50% rating from a year earlier. North Dakota declined to 57% good to excellent from 64%, while Minnesota eased to 86% from 89%. South Dakota slipped to 50% from 53%, while Montana improved to 43%, up sharply from 33% the previous week.
Spring wheat development accelerated, with 54% of the crop headed, up from 32% a week earlier. Progress was behind 58% last year but matched the five-year average. North Dakota reached 53% headed, up from 25%, while Minnesota advanced to 65% and South Dakota to 91%. Montana was 28% headed, double the previous week’s 14%.
