The latest UDSA crop progress report, out Monday afternoon and covering the week through Sept. 27, showed rain across the central U.S. over the past several days was enough to hamper fieldwork in some areas. That was especially true for soybean harvest, which was slower than the entire set of trade guesses issued before Monday’s report. Corn harvest was also a bit slower than analysts were expecting this past week.
Corn quality held steady over the past week, with 57% of the crop still rated in good-to-excellent condition through Sunday. About 26% was rated fair (unchanged from last week), with the remaining 17% rated poor or very poor (also unchanged from last week).
Pennsylvania (76%), Iowa (75%) and Minnesota (68%) have the highest combined good-to-excellent ratings among the top 18 production states at this time.
Physiologically, nearly all (96%) of the crop is now dented, which is slightly ahead of the prior five-year average of 95%. Seventy-two percent is fully mature, versus the prior five-year average of 71%. And harvest progress has reached 18%, mirroring the prior five-year average. That was also on the very low end of trade guesses, which ranged between 18% and 21%.
Soybean quality holding
Soybean quality ratings held steady, matching analyst expectations, with 58% of the crop still in good-to-excellent condition. About 29% of the crop is rated fair (up 1 point from last week), with the remaining 13% rated poor or very poor (down 1 point from last week). Kentucky (75%), Iowa (74%) and Tennessee (71%) lead the top 18 production states so far.
Physiologically, 75% of the crop is now dropping leaves, mirroring the prior five-year average. And harvest reached 17% completion, which is also identical to the prior five-year average. However, analysts were expecting more progress, with trade guesses ranging between 18% and 23%.
Winter wheat plantings improved from 17% a week ago up to 27% through Sept. 27. That puts the young 2026-27 season’s effort behind last year’s pace of 32% and the prior five-year average of 34%.
Click here for additional data points from today’s USDA crop progress report, including a state-by-state look at topsoil and subsoil moisture, days suitable for fieldwork and more.