In this week’s report, USDA left the national corn condition rating unchanged at 52 percent in the combined good to excellent categories. In the I-80 Corridor, Illinois went down by two points while Nebraska and Ohio both picked up one point. Outside the Corridor, Colorado and Michigan showed three point improvements. (Note: Tennessee gained four points, but because its harvest is already nearly half done, that condition number is basically irrelevant.) On the other extreme, North Dakota showed a five point decline. (Kentucky’s loss of four points can be disregarded for the same reason as Tennessee above.)
Corn harvest nationwide is now 12 percent complete - two points behind its five-year average of 14 percent. In the I-80 Corridor, Nebraska made the most progress and now reports 13 percent of its crop already out of the field. Illinois and Indiana are both six percent complete. Outside the Corridor, the state with the fastest progress so far this year is North Carolina at 74 percent. That may turn out to be a very good thing if Hurricane Ian does, indeed, churn in that direction.
The national soybean condition rating also held steady this week to remain at 55 percent good to excellent. In the I-80 Corridor, there was not much change since plants are rapidly moving toward maturity. Ohio showed a two point improvement. However, outside the Corridor, North Dakota dropped six points. (Louisiana lost seven points, but it is already two thirds done with harvest, so the condition rating is meaningless at this point.) Kansas showed the biggest improvement with a five point gain and North Carolina came up by four.
The national soybean harvest is now eight percent done compared to a 13 percent average pace. In the I-80 Corridor, Nebraska leads the way with 13 percent completed and Iowa has seven percent cut. Outside the Corridor, Louisiana leads the nation with 68 percent of its crop harvested.
Cotton condition nationwide saw a two point decline to 31 percent good to excellent. In the top five producing states, Mississippi showed a six point improvement in condition. Meanwhile, North Carolina dropped by six points. Among the other producing states, Louisiana reported the largest improvement of eight points while Virginia reported a five point decline.
Cotton harvest is now up to 15 percent completion nationwide - one point ahead of its five-year average. The largest producing state of Texas moved up to 25 percent completion - four points ahead of its average pace. Mississippi has 16 percent out of the field.
Grain sorghum (milo) condition nationwide saw a modest improvement of two points in the good to excellent rating - bringing it up to 22 percent. In the Plains, Nebraska actually reported a seven point increase, but Oklahoma went down by six points to where only 13 percent of its crop rates good to excellent now. Harvest is picking up, so the condition ratings won’t mean much after this week.
Grain sorghum harvest has reached 27 percent nationwide - three points behind its five-year average. The number one producing state of Texas is now at 82 percent completion - still running three points ahead of schedule. Oklahoma moved up to 13 percent. South Dakota reports the third fastest harvest in the nation with 12 percent cut which is five points ahead of its state average.
Rice harvest nationwide moved up to 59 percent of the crop now cut. Texas is nearing the finish line with 93 percent now taken out of the field. Louisiana is close behind with 90 percent completion.
Peanut condition nationwide improved by a single point to 68 percent good to excellent. North Carolina reported a huge decline of 11 points in their crop since last week. Florida improved by seven points, but that might be misleading since they already have a third of their crop harvested.
Peanut harvest moved up to 12 percent completion across the nation as of Sunday. That is one point behind the five-year average. The most progress was seen in Florida and rightfully so with Hurricane Ian drawing a bead on the peninsula state. Florida farmers gathered in another 20 percent of their crop in the last week - bringing their total up to 34 percent. Virginia says they are 20 percent done and Georgia reports 12 percent.
Winter wheat planting continues to forge ahead even though conditions are extremely dry in many areas of the Plains. Nationally, 31 percent of the crop is now planted compared to its five-year average of 30 percent. In the Plains, South Dakota advanced by 20 points to stand at 52 percent planted. Texas moved up to 44 percent sown and Nebraska made great strides - putting 22 percent of their intended acres in since last week and bringing their total now up to 40 percent.
Pasture conditions in Texas went backwards and declined by seven points this week leaving it with only 20 percent in the good to excellent categories. Neighboring Oklahoma dropped by another three points to reach the lowest rating of all the major cattle producing states at only SIX percent making the good to excellent threshold. In the High Plains, Colorado sank by 11 points. New Mexico dropped by nine. Wyoming reported the biggest improvement of eight points
In the topsoil moisture deficit category (generally considered to measure the top four inches of soil representing the seed planting and sprouting zone), it comes as no surprise that Montana continues to lead this category with 95 percent of its acres still rated short to very short on moisture. Oklahoma expanded its moisture deficit by nine more points to claim second place, and in a surprise move, Arkansas went backwards by an amazing 30 percentage points since last week to jump up to 88 percent short to very short.
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 solidified its grasp on the top spot as its moisture shortage expanded to 95 percent of its acres rated short to very short. Oklahoma added another seven points to its deficit. While not in the top five driest states, Arkansas made the biggest move in this category as it reported a 24 point expansion in its deficit rating where it now stands at 77 percent.
USDA Crop Progress 220926.pdf