USDA’s latest crop progress report, out Monday afternoon and covering the week through May 12, showed corn and soybean plantings continuing their swift pace – hardly a surprise, given that there wasn’t an abundance of rainy weather across the central U.S. this past week. Corn plantings are now more than halfway complete, maintaining a solid lead over the past five-year average. Soybean plantings are also progressing much more quickly than normal. Winter wheat quality ratings eroded another three points lower, meantime.
Corn plantings jumped from 38% completion a week ago up to 57% through Sunday. That was a bit ahead of the average trade guess of 55%, with individual analyst estimates ranging between 48% and 60%. That leaves this season’s pace a bit behind 2025’s mark of 59% but still moderately ahead of the prior five-year average of 52%.
Emergence reached 23% through May 10, up from 13% in the prior week. That’s behind 2025’s pace of 26% but four points above the prior five-year average of 19%.
Soybean plantings also rocketed ahead this past week, shifting from 33% completion a week ago up to 49% through Sunday. That also mirrored the average trade guess, with individual analyst estimates ranging between 44% and 52%. This year’s progress is ahead of 2025’s pace of 45% and significantly higher than the prior five-year average of 36%.
Emergence improved from 13% last week up to 20% through May 10. That’s also ahead of both 2025’s pace of 16% and the prior five-year average of 12%.
Plantings for other regional crops were also updated in today’s report, including:
- Cotton at 29%
- Rice at 84%
- Sorghum at 25%
- Sugarbeets at 79%
- Spring wheat at 53%
Winter wheat quality ratings fell another three points this past week, with 28% of the crop now in good-to-excellent condition. Analysts were expecting to see a one-point improvement, in contrast, with individual trade guesses ranging between 30% and 34%. Another 32% of the crop is rated fair (unchanged from last week), with the remaining 40% rated poor or very poor (up three points from last week).
Physiologically, 61% of the crop is now headed, up from 49% in the prior week. That’s well above both 2025’s pace of 51% and the prior five-year average of 45%.
Click here to access more data from today’s report, including a state-by-state look at topsoil and subsoil moisture, days suitable for fieldwork and more.