National corn condition ratings dropped one point in the good to excellent ratings, sliding down to 58 percent this week. Notable moves within the I-80 Corridor included Iowa which improved by two points and Ohio which went down by two. Indiana declined by one point. Outside the Corridor, South and North Dakota both saw significant decreases of four and three points respectively.
The national soybean condition rating held steady this week at 59 percent good to excellent. In the I-80 Corridor, Ohio posted a two-point improvement, but Illinois backtracked by five points after big gains a week ago. Big movers outside the Corridor included Minnesota rising by six points while its Dakota neighbors to the west both reported three-point losses.
Cotton condition ratings nationwide slid lower by another three points to only 33 percent good to excellent. Of the top five producing states, Georgia had the largest improvement of only two points. On the other hand, Mississippi’s condition rating tanked by seven points since last week and the largest cotton producing state of Texas sank by four where it’s good to excellent rating now stands at only 10 percent!
The national grain sorghum condition rating slid by another three points down to 51 percent good to excellent. The largest producing state of Texas also had the largest issues as it reported a downgrade of six points in its rating. Kansas also dropped by two points. Meanwhile, Nebraska and Colorado both improved by two points. To the north, it should be noted that South Dakota reported a four-point drop.
Spring wheat harvest moved up to 39 percent completion nationwide this week - only seven points behind its five-year average. South Dakota holds the lead with three fourths of its crops already out of the field - within two points of its average pace. Montana is actually 14 points ahead of schedule with 60 percent harvested. Idaho remains the biggest laggard with only 27 percent harvested as of Sunday.
Pasture conditions in the Plains showed only slight improvements of one point in the good to excellent categories for Oklahoma and Nebraska. But, it was a dismal week for conditions in the other Plains states. South Dakota’s rating dropped by a huge 12 percentage points, Texas lost five more points, and Kansas shaved off four. In the Rockies, Wyoming reported a very large drop of 11 points since last week while Montana declined by nine.
In the topsoil moisture deficit report (generally considered to measure the top four inches of soil representing the seed planting and sprouting zone), Texas holds the top spot again with 94 percent of its acres considered short to very short on moisture. Washington state remains in the second spot with 91 percent. It’s noteworthy that Louisiana made a surprising move upward after reporting that its moisture availability declined by 10 points in the last seven days, and Montana said its deficit expanded by nine points.
In the subsoil moisture deficit report (considered to measure deep soil moisture down to a few feet where the crop roots would extend downward), Texas keeps a lock on the driest spot with 90 percent of its acres in the short to very short categories. New Mexico moves into the second position with 85 percent and Washington state comes in third with 80 percent.
USDA Crop Progress 230821.pdf
