October 10, 2007
US corn, soy harvest pace above average
US corn and soy harvests maintained their above-normal pace as of Sunday (October 7, 2007), while winter wheat planting continued to maintain a slower-than- normal seeding pace, the USDA said Tuesday (October 9, 2007) in its weekly crop progress report.
The USDA said 42 percent of the corn crop was harvested as of Oct. 7, up from 31 percent last week and above the five-year average of 30 percent. Last year at this time, 27 percent of the crop had been harvested.
Analysts had predicted harvest progress at 40 percent to 45 percent .
Corn harvest progress
|
|
Percentage of crop harvested |
Last week |
5-year average |
|
|
76% |
60% |
45% |
|
|
22% |
13% |
16% |
|
|
44% |
31% |
25% |
|
|
25% |
15% |
10% |
Source: USDA
The report produced nothing shocking, as the data were pretty much as expected, said Dale Durchholz, analyst with Agrivisor in Bloomington, Ill.
Harvesting in the heart of the corn belt is well along, particularly in Illinois, while later planted crops farther west outside of key producing areas still lag a bit, Durchholz added.
Nevertheless, it's no surprise that crop maturity is slower out west, as later planted crops and a wet weather pattern toward the end of August slowed maturity, he added.
Ninety-six percent of the corn crop was mature, up from 91 percent last week and the five-year average of 91 percent , according to USDA. Last year, 94 percent of the crop was mature. The USDA rated 63 percent of the crop in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from last week.
Soy
The USDA said 50 percent of the soy crop was harvested, up from 29 percent last week and above the five-year average of 45 percent . Last year, 43 percent of the crop had been harvested.
Analysts had predicted 45 percent to 53 percent of the crop would be harvested.
Soy harvest progress
|
|
Percentage of crop harvested |
Last week |
5-year average |
|
|
68% |
43% |
49% |
|
|
58% |
35% |
59% |
|
|
49% |
26% |
37% |
|
|
74% |
40% |
50% |
Source: USDA
The report shows that areas where harvesting occurred, farmers aggressively went after their beans, said Jason Roose, analyst with US Commodities in West Des Moines Iowa.
Producers that forward sold a lot of their beans due to favorable prices took advantage of open weather for harvesting, Roose said. Otherwise, the cutting pace and maturity levels were as expected, with crops ahead of levels at the same time last year, he added.
The USDA said 94 percent of the soy crop was dropping leaves, compared to 88 percent a week ago and the five-year average of 92 percent.
The USDA said 58 percent of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, up one percentage point from last week's 57 percent .
