In this week’s report, USDA dropped the national corn condition rating by one point so that it now stands at 53 percent in the combined good to excellent categories. In the I-80 Corridor, Ohio actually improved by four percentage points and Nebraska gained back three points. On the other hand, Iowa went down by three. Outside the Corridor, Tennessee sank by six points while South Dakota and Michigan both dropped by five. The biggest improvement came in Colorado which saw its rating go up by seven points and Kentucky went up five.
In the first corn harvest progress report of this year, USDA reported five percent of the nation’s crop has been taken out of the field - slightly ahead of the five-year average of four percent. In the I-80 Corridor, Nebraska and Illinois both have one percent of their acreage harvested while the other states in the Corridor haven’t registered officially yet. However, outside the Corridor, Texas leads the way with 64 percent of its crop harvested and North Carolina is 46 percent complete. Kansas already has 21 percent of its corn picked versus its average of only nine percent due to the poor drought-related quality of the crop.
The national soybean condition rating dropped by a single point to 56 percent good to excellent. In the I-80 Corridor, Ohio gained four points just like it did in the corn. Nebraska improved by two, but Iowa declined by three. Outside the Corridor, the Delta states continue to have issues as Louisiana dropped by another nine points this week while Mississippi came down by eight. In this week’s update, Tennessee sank by six points. Other than Ohio and Nebraska, the only state to show any improvement was Minnesota which picked up a single point.
Cotton condition nationwide declined two percentage points moving it down to 33 percent good to excellent while 37 percent rated poor to very poor. South Carolina saw the biggest drop in condition as it came down nine points. Louisiana sank by eight and Arkansas was lowered by seven. Kansas and California both posted five-point improvements and Oklahoma picked up three.
Cotton harvest makes its first appearance on the report this week and USDA reports eight percent is now out of the field as of Sunday - right in line with its five-year average. The largest producing state of Texas has already harvested 17 percent of its acreage - three points ahead of its average pace.
Grain sorghum (milo) condition nationwide declined by one point where it now stands at 20 percent good to excellent while 46 percent of the nation’s crop languishes in the poor to very poor categories. In the key Plains states, Oklahoma condition improved by two points while Kansas and Colorado went down by two. To the north, South Dakota showed a nice seven-point improvement.
Grain sorghum harvest is now 23 percent complete nationwide. The number one producing state of Texas has reached 74 percent completion - four points ahead of schedule. Kansas is just getting started with two percent out of the field. Oklahoma, Nebraska, and South Dakota all make their first appearance this harvest season with one percent now in the bin.
Rice condition held steady at 72 percent good to excellent across the country. In the South, Missouri showed a three-point improvement since a week ago, but Arkansas and Mississippi both posted a decline of a single point. Out west, California’s rating dipped by five points.
Rice harvest nationwide made decent progress - moving up to 34 percent completion compared to its 39 percent average. Texas has made the most progress so far with 86 percent now cut with Louisiana close behind at 83 percent. Mississippi made the biggest strides in harvest activity as they took 21 percent out of the field last week to push them up to 44 percent completion.
Peanut condition nationwide eased two points lower to land at 68 percent good to excellent. Florida followed last week’s big decline with another drop of seven points this week. Georgia and Alabama both declined by two points.
Spring wheat harvest nationwide is edging closer to the finish line with harvest now 85 percent complete within four points of its 89 percent average. South Dakota and Montana are basically done. Washington state is now 92 percent complete. There won’t be much left by next week with open weather expected for the next several days.
While spring wheat harvest wraps up, it’s now time to track winter wheat planting which has already reached 10 percent completion nationwide as of Sunday compared to its five-year average of seven percent. In the Plains, Texas reports 17 percent of its new crop in the ground. Oklahoma has 11 percent seeded and South Dakota has planted 10 percent.
Pasture conditions in the Plains largely saw relatively minor improvements, although Texas did rebound by another four points in the good to excellent categories since the widespread rains a couple weeks ago. Oklahoma and South Dakota both picked up two points in their pastureland ratings. Things were not so good in other areas, though, as North Dakota pasture conditions sank by twelve points while Wyoming came down by three and New Mexico declined by two.
In the topsoil moisture deficit category (generally considered to measure the top four inches of soil representing the seed planting and sprouting zone), Montana moved right back into the top spot again as it reported another eight percent of its cropland moved into the short to very short categories placing it at 93 percent. Kansas is now in second place as it stayed at 86 percent.
In the subsoil moisture deficit category (considered to measure deep soil moisture down to a few feet where the crop roots would extend downward), Montana again overtook Kansas to reclaim the top spot with 90 percent of its acres said to be in the short to very short categories. That’s five points more than last week. Kansas saw its conditions worsen by four more points where it now stands at 89 percent and Wyoming comes in third with 82 percent.
Crop Progress 9.12.22
