USDA’s latest Crop Progress report, out Monday afternoon and covering the week through Nov. 8, primarily focuses on harvest data this late in the season. Of particular note, soybean harvest is now more than 90% complete, with corn harvest passing the 80% benchmark. Winter wheat plantings are also very close to the finish line, with that pace staying just below the prior five-year average.
Corn harvest improved from 74% completion a week ago up to 81% through Sunday. That’s still moderately behind the prior five-year average of 86%. It’s also a bit slower than the average trade guess of 82%, although there were a wide range of estimates, from 72% to 90%. Michigan (61%), Pennsylvania (67%) and South Dakota (68%) are the farthest behind among the top 18 production states so far.
Soybean harvest moved from 88% completion last week up to 92% through Sunday. That’s still a bit ahead of the prior five-year average of 91%. As with corn, it’s also slightly below the average trade guess of 93%, with individual estimates ranging between 88% and 95%. North Carolina (62%), Kansas (78%) and Missouri (84%) still have the largest percentage left to be harvested among the top 18 production states so far.
Other regional harvests continue to push forward, including:
- cotton at 71% (up from 563% last week)
- sorghum at 70% (up from 64% last week)
- peanuts at 77% (up from 66% last week)
- sugarbeets at 90% (up from 86% last week)
- sunflowers at 74% (up from 61% last week)
Winter wheat plantings shifted from 83% completion a week ago up to 89% through Nov. 8. That’s modestly behind the prior five-year average of 90%. It also mirrors the average analyst estimate, with individual trade guesses ranging between 83% and 93%. Emergence improved from 65% last week up to 76% through Sunday.
Quality ratings saw moderate improvements from a week ago, with 49% of the crop in good to excellent condition. About 35% of the crop is rated fair (down 3 points from last week), with the remaining 16% rated poor or very poor (down 2 points from last week).
Click here for additional data points from the latest USDA Crop Progress report, including a state-by-state look at topsoil and subsoil moisture, days suitable for fieldwork, and more.