In this week’s report, USDA said corn planting progress as of Sunday, May 22 made tremendous headway as it raced ahead to reach 72 percent completion nationally - coming within seven points of its five-year average of 79 percent. In the important I-80 Corridor encompassing the key corn production areas between Nebraska and Ohio, Iowa actually took over the lead spot with 86 percent of its crop in the ground - planting an amazing 29 percent of its acreage just last week. In fact, ALL of the I-80 Corridor states planted more than 20 percent of their acreage since last Sunday.
Soybean planting roared ahead by 20 percentage points to push up to 50 percent planted now across the nation versus the average of 55 percent. In the I-80 Corridor, farmers took full advantage of optimal planting weather as Iowa farmers seeded 35 percent of their acres since a week ago, surging to 69 percent planted this week. Nebraska still leads with 72 percent.
Cotton planting also moved right along reaching 54 percent completion nationwide compared to its five-year average of 51. The biggest gain of the top producing states was seen in Mississippi where 26 percent of its crop was planted in the last seven days. That pushes them up to 81 percent planted now - well ahead of their 65 percent average.
Grain sorghum (milo) planting made moderate progress as it gained only seven points to register 33 percent planted nationally - just a couple of points behind its average pace of 35 percent. The biggest advance was seen in Nebraska where producers put 20 percent of their crop in the ground since a week ago, but they are still running seven points behind their average pace of 31 percent.
Rice planting is coming down the home stretch with 91 percent of the national crop now planted - two points ahead of normal. Only Missouri is below the 90 percent level at 80 percent which is five points behind where they normally would be this time of year.
Peanut planting is one point ahead of its average pace nationally where it now stands at 65 percent complete this week. The top producing state of Georgia made the most progress, logging a 23 percent gain to push its planted acreage to 71 percent. However, the leader of the top producing states remains Florida where 77 percent of the crop is now planted.
Spring wheat planting is nearing completion EXCEPT for North Dakota which continues to flounder amid continual wet conditions. It is truly amazing that only 27 percent of the North Dakota spring wheat crop is planted when it should have 80 percent seeded by now. That continues to severely drag down the national totals with only 49 percent of the overall US crop planted versus its average of 83 percent for this point on the calendar.
Oats planting continues to struggle. Nationally, we are now up to 77 percent planted - still 13 points behind the five-year average of 90 percent. A closer look shows that the same problem areas persist with North Dakota and Minnesota running well behind their normal pace. Wisconsin is still eight points below its average, but it did make substantial progress last week.
Winter wheat condition improved by one lonely percentage point in the combined good to excellent categories as it now stands at 28 percent. In the key Plans states, South Dakota improved by six points and Nebraska came up by three points. Meanwhile, Oklahoma slid by three points moving down to only 10 percent rated good to excellent.
Pasture conditions in the Plains saw a few sizable adjustments featuring a 14 point improvement in the good to excellent rating in Nebraska as it moves up to 27 percent in that combined category. On the other hand, Oklahoma condition declined by seven points, but it still has the best rating in the Plains. Colorado saw a big drop in its pasture condition as it went down by 12 points just last week.
In the topsoil moisture deficit category (generally considered to measure the top four inches of soil representing the seed planting and sprouting zone), New Mexico again maintains the top spot holding steady at 89 percent short to very short. Texas is right on its heels at 87 percent. A surprising jump showed up in South Carolina as its topsoil moisture deficit increased by 14 points last week. While not in the top five, Alabama reported a huge drop in its topsoil moisture as its deficit rating went up an amazing 22 points!
In the subsoil moisture deficit category (considered to measure deep soil moisture down to a few feet where the crop roots would extend downward), New Mexico is still in command with 94 percent of its acreage reportedly in the short to very short categories. Noteworthy moves included Colorado showing a seven point increase in moisture deficit last week while Nevada went backwards by 10 percentage points.
