National corn condition ratings remained unchanged this week at 57 percent good to excellent. Within the I-80 Corridor, Illinois picked up four points but still lags all the other states in the Corridor with a low 45 percent rating. Ohio trimmed its rating by four points. Among some of the other key producing states, Minnesota stood out as it lost six points in its rating over the last seven days.
The national soybean condition rating dropped by one point to land at 54 percent good to excellent. As in the corn, Illinois gained four points this week, but it continues to run well behind all the other states in that region. Nebraska increased its rating by three percentage points. Outside the I-80 Corridor, Minnesota went down by seven points.
Cotton condition ratings nationwide improved by a single point to 46 percent good to excellent. Among the top five producing states, Alabama showed the most improvement with a five point gain. Georgia tacked on an additional four points. The Texas rating declined by another two points this week to an amazingly low 24 percent.
The national grain sorghum condition rating picked up two points this week where it now stands at 60 percent good to excellent. The southern Plains showed the most improvement with Oklahoma adding five points to its rating this week. On the other hand, Nebraska declined by three points and South Dakota dropped by six.
Spring wheat condition nationally showed declines in most locations as the rating across the country slid by two points to 49 percent good to excellent this week. The biggest drop in condition was seen in Montana where the crop rating went down by seven points. Washington state went down by six points and Minnesota came down by four. However, North Dakota actually showed a three-point improvement. South Dakota still shows the poorest condition with only 29 percent of its acres making the good to excellent grade.
Winter wheat harvest edged up to 68 percent completion compared to its average pace of 77 percent. Kansas is coming down the final stretch with 87 percent of its crop now out of the field. Nebraska and South Dakota are in full swing with 43 and 46 percent harvested respectively. Nebraska is running a full 31 points behind its five-year average harvest pace, though.
Pasture conditions were varied in the Plains with South Dakota improving by four points while Kansas conditions went down by the same amount. However, we saw big changes in the Rockies and Southwest as Montana and New Mexico both dropped eleven points in their state pastureland ratings. Colorado went downhill by nine points this week.
In the topsoil moisture deficit report (generally considered to measure the top four inches of soil representing the seed planting and sprouting zone), Washington state reported the driest conditions with 80 percent of its acreage considered to be short to very short on moisture. Oregon’s deficit expanded by five points from last week. Minnesota posted a huge drop of 10 points in its moisture availability.
In the subsoil moisture deficit report (considered to measure deep soil moisture down to a few feet where the crop roots would extend downward), Washington state continues to see its moisture availability decline with 73 percent of its acres now considered to be short to very short. Missouri dropped to second place on the list after its rating rebounded by seven points from a week ago. Iowa had one of the largest increases in moisture deficit as its availability of water sank by eight points with its short to very short rating now coming in at 63 percent.
USDA Crop Progress 230724.pdf
