August 21, 2007

 

US crop progress wrap: Good-to-excellent corn ratings up
 

 

Slightly more of the US corn crop is in good-to-excellent condition than a week ago, while slightly less of the country's soybeans are seen as good to excellent, the US Department of Agriculture said Monday (Aug 20) in its weekly crop progress report.

 

The US spring wheat harvest, meanwhile, is continuing at an above-average pace, according to the report.

 

 

Corn
 

The USDA said 58 percent of the corn crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition as of Aug 19, up from 56 percent a week ago and even with last year's rating.

 

Among the biggest corn-producing states, Iowa had 71 percent of its crop rated good to excellent, up from 64 percent the previous week, according to the USDA. 73 percent of Iowa's corn was in the dough state, above the average of 64 percent, and 39 percent was dented, above the average of 23 percent, the USDA said.

 

The Chicago Board of Trade corn market may interpret Iowa's seven-point improvement to be "a little on the negative side," although traders are going to pay more attention to on-the-ground observations than the weekly progress report, said Shawn McCambridge, analyst at Prudential Financial in Chicago. The 2007 John Deere-Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour kicked off Monday and will run this week.

 

"It's just kind of a mixed bag across the corn belt. We're really going to put a lot more merit into actual observations," McCambridge said.

 

In Illinois, 72 percent of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, down from 73 percent a week ago. 94 percent of the crop was in the dough stage, above the average of 85 percent, and 60 percent was dented, above the average of 45 percent. 9 percent of Illinois' crop was mature, above the average of 4 percent, according to the USDA.

 

In Nebraska, 79 percent of the crop was rated good to excellent, up from 78 percent the previous week. 88 percent of the crop was in the dough stage, above the average of 82 percent, and 46 percent was dented, above the average of 36 percent, the USDA said.

 

On average, 81 percent of the country's crop was in the dough stage, above the average of 70 percent, while 43 percent was dented, above the average of 31 percent, according to the USDA. 6 percent was mature, above the average of 5 percent.

 

"The crop is coming along quick," McCambridge said.

 

 

Soybeans
 

The USDA rated 54 percent of the soybean crop in good-to-excellent condition, down from 56 percent a week ago and below last year's rating of 58 percent.

 

In Illinois, 58 percent of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, down from 62 percent a week earlier. 97 percent of the crop was setting pods, above the average of 88 percent, and 2 percent was dropping leaves, above the average of 1 percent, the USDA said.

 

In Iowa, 76 percent of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, up from 71 percent a week earlier. 97 percent of the crop was setting pods, above the average of 96 percent, while none of the crop was dropping leaves, below the average of 1 percent, the USDA said.

 

The increase in Iowa's soybean and corn condition ratings comes from rain that fell about every other day last week, said Jason Roose, analyst for US Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa. It was "not a big surprise that the ratings did improve," he said.

 

In Indiana, 35 percent of the crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition, down from 40 percent the previous week. 92 percent of the crop was setting pods, above the average of 82 percent, and 4 percent of the crop was dropping leaves, up from the average of zero, according to the USDA.

 

Overall, 92 percent of the US soybean crop was setting pods, up from the average of 88 percent, and 2 percent was dropping leaves, matching the average.

 

"We're not behind" in soybean development, Roose said.

 

 

Spring wheat
 

The US spring wheat crop was 73 percent harvested, up from 51 percent a week ago but behind 80 percent at the same time last year. The average is 54 percent.

 

In North Dakota, 65 percent of the crop was cut, down from 77 percent last year but above the average of 49 percent. In South Dakota, 96 percent of the crop was cut, down from 100 percent in 2006 but above the average of 94 percent.

 

There were some concerns that rains in South Dakota would delay cutting, but that does not appear to be a big concern as most of the crop is already harvested, McCambridge said.

 

"Any fundamental concerns about the possibility of rain damaging this crop are definitely easing," he said.

 

In Minnesota, 81 percent of the crop was harvested, behind last year's 87 percent but above the average of 56 percent. In Montana, 77 percent was cut, down from 78 percent in 2006 but sharply above the average of 43 percent.