This week’s national corn condition rating declined by one percentage point to 59 percent good to excellent. The biggest drop in ratings was seen by Ohio which lost five percentage points followed by Nebraska and Illinois both going backward by three points. Iowa and Indiana actually improved by a couple of points this week.
Soybean conditions went up one point to 57 percent good to excellent. Notable movers were Illinois going down six points and Ohio dropping four. Iowa and Indiana both improved by a single point.
The biggest surprise this week was the big drop in cotton condition ratings - going down by nine points nationally to 61 percent good to excellent! The main reason for the slide was Texas lopping off a huge 14 percent chunk from their rating while Georgia and North Carolina each went down four points.
The national peanut condition dropped two points to 74 percent despite the fact that Alabama actually went up nine points and South Carolina added two. The largest growing state of Georgia registered a two-point decline as did North Carolina.
As rice harvest continues to chug along at 28 percent complete, the remaining rice condition is rated at 75 percent good to excellent which is a two percentage point drop from last week. Missouri had the biggest drop - losing six percentage points.
Grain sorghum (milo) condition declined by one point nationwide with the largest drop seen in Colorado which went down by seven points from last week. Nebraska improved by a single point. Grain sorghum harvest has moved ahead to 19 percent complete nationwide with all of the activity taking place in Texas where 66 percent of its milo crop is now out of the field.
Spring wheat harvest is in the cleanup mode with 95 percent of the nation’s crop now in the bin. This will be the last update on the spring wheat harvest this year.
Five percent of the nation’s winter wheat crop is now seeded compared to its five-year average of three percent. Colorado has the most rapid progress by far in the High Plains with 22 percent of its crop already in the ground. South Dakota is next with three percent planted.
Pasture conditions declined in the southern Plains with Oklahoma losing six points in its rating and Texas dropped by three. Nebraska conditions improved by eight points but its pasture land is still struggling with only 28 of it reported to be in good to excellent condition.
Topsoil moisture deficit conditions saw Washington state return to the dubious top spot with 100 percent of its topsoil rated short to very short on moisture.
Washington is also in a tie with Montana for the top spot in the subsoil moisture deficit category with 96 percent rated short to very short in both states.
