A warmer, drier than usual start to the fall season has allowed growers to get in the fields sooner and with greater consistency than previous years. This weather pattern has accelerated corn and soybean harvests ahead of their five-year average, according to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report. Currently, corn harvest was 29% complete as of Monday, and soybeans 34%, 7 and 8 percentage points ahead of their five-year average, respectively. Winter wheat planting also came in ahead of average (47% planted, +1% above the five-year average), as did sorghum maturity (79%, +12% ahead of the five-year average). Meanwhile, cotton and rice harvest remains at a slower pace than average. Read more analysis on the report here.