In addition to corn condition dropping 1 percentage point this week, corn estimated as mature is still far behind the five-year average pace, according to USDA NASS’ latest Crop Progress report released Tuesday.

As of Sunday, 73% of corn was estimated as mature, 19 percentage points behind the five-year average of 92%. That was slightly closer to the average pace than last week, when corn mature was running 27 percentage points behind average.

“North Dakota and Michigan are just 42% and 44% mature, while Wisconsin and South Dakota are 49% and 53%, respectively,” DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini said.

Nationwide, corn harvest progressed another 7 percentage points to reach 22% as of Sunday, but that’s still 14 percentage points behind the five-year average of 36%.

“North Dakota harvest was just 1% done, while Wisconsin is 3% and South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa are just 5% to 7% done,” Mantini noted.

The condition of corn still in fields continued to decline with an estimated 55% good-to-excellent rating, down 1 percentage point from the previous week and the lowest in six years, according to Mantini.

Mantini also noted that, “USDA said 96% of the corn crop is dented as of October 13, up from last week’s 93% and below the five-year average of 100%. Ohio, Indiana, the Dakotas and Wisconsin are lagging the most, in a range of 84% to 95% dented; Wisconsin is at 84%.”

Soybeans dropping leaves reached 85% as of Sunday, 8 percentage points behind the five-year average of 93% — an improvement from last week when the percent of the crop dropping leaves was running 15 percentage points behind average.

Soybean harvest moved ahead 12 percentage points last week to reach 26%, but still 23 percentage points behind the five-year average of 49%. That was further behind average than in last Monday’s report, when soybean harvest was running 7 percentage points behind the average pace.

“North Dakota was 16% done, while South Dakota was only 13% and Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin are all in the 13% to 15% done range,” Mantini said. Soybean condition was rated 54% good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from 53% the previous week.

Spring wheat harvest moved ahead only 3 percentage points to reach 94% as of Sunday, 6 percentage points behind the five-year average of 100% complete.

Winter wheat planting progress stood at 65% as of Sunday, equal to the five-year average. Winter wheat emerged was estimated at 41%, 1 percentage point ahead of the five-year average.

Sorghum mature was estimated at 81%, just barely behind the average of 82%. Sorghum harvested reached 40%, behind the five-year average of 46%.

Cotton bolls opening was estimated at 87%, ahead of the average of 83%. Cotton harvested was estimated at 32%, also ahead of the five-year average of 27%. Rice harvested was 87%, just slightly behind the average of 87%.

To view weekly crop progress reports issued by National Ag Statistics Service offices in individual states, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov. Look for the U.S. map in the “Find Data and Reports by” section and choose the state you wish to view in the drop-down menu. Then look for that state’s “Crop Progress & Condition” report.

National Crop Progress Summary
This Last Last 5-Year
Week Week Year Avg.
Corn Dented 96 93 100 100
Corn Mature 73 58 96 92
Corn Harvested 22 15 38 36
Soybeans Dropping Leaves 85 72 94 93
Soybeans Harvested 26 14 37 49
Spring Wheat Harvested 94 91 100 100
Winter Wheat Planted 65 52 64 65
Winter Wheat Emerged 41 26 42 40
Cotton Bolls Opening 87 83 84 83
Cotton Harvested 32 25 31 27
Sorghum Mature 81 65 80 82
Sorghum Harvested 40 33 42 46
Rice Harvested 87 76 87 88

**

National Crop Condition Summary
(VP = Very Poor; P = Poor; F = Fair; G = Good; E = Excellent)
This Week Last Week Last Year
VP P F G E VP P F G E VP P F G E
Corn 4 11 30 44 11 4 11 29 45 11 4 8 20 47 21
Soybeans 4 10 32 45 9 4 11 32 45 8 3 8 23 48 18
Cotton 4 17 41 30 8 4 15 42 32 7 11 20 34 29 6
Sorghum 1 6 28 44 11 2 5 28 51 14 6 11 28 44 11

**

National Soil Moisture Condition – 48 States
(VS = Very Short; SH = Short; AD = Adequate; SR = Surplus)
This Week Last Week Last Year
VS SH AD SR VS SH AD SR VS SH AD SR
Topsoil Moisture 10 16 55 19 11 16 53 20 4 9 64 23
Subsoil Moisture 10 18 56 16 10 18 57 15 7 13 64 16

Brian Ethridge can be reached at brian.ethridge@dtn.com

Source: Brian Ethridge, DTN