This article was originally posted at 3:05 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Oct. 12. It was last updated at 3:43 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
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OMAHA (DTN) -- Farmers made good headway harvesting their corn and soybeans last week, pushing harvest progress for both crops to near the halfway point by Sunday, Oct. 10, USDA NASS said in its weekly national Crop Progress report Tuesday. The report is normally released on Mondays but was delayed this week due to the holiday.
Corn harvest maintained a steady pace last week, moving ahead 12 percentage points to reach 41% complete as of Sunday. That is 2 percentage points ahead of 39% last year and 10 points ahead of the five-year average of 31%.
"Illinois corn is 55% harvested, and Iowa is 30% finished," noted DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman.
Harvest could slow this week as widespread storms with moderate to heavy precipitation and high winds make their way across the central U.S. For a detailed forecast of what these storms may bring and what areas of the country they are expected to hit, see "Moderate to Heavy Precipitation Ahead" by DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
For the remainder of corn in fields, NASS estimated 94% of corn is mature, 8 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 86%.
"It seems odd for USDA to give corn a condition rating when nearly half of the crop has been harvested, but the agency said 60% of the corn crop was rated good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from last week," Hultman said.
Soybean harvest also moved ahead at a steady pace last week, progressing 15 percentage points to reach 49% complete as of Sunday. That is 9 percentage points behind last year's 58% but 9 percentage points ahead of the average pace of 40%.
"Minnesota is the furthest along at 83% harvested," Hultman said. "Iowa's harvest is 56% complete, and Illinois is 43% finished."
For the remainder of the crop, NASS estimated that 91% of soybeans were dropping leaves as of Sunday, 2 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 89%.
As with corn, soybean condition also improved 1 percentage point, from 58% good to excellent the previous week to 59% as of Sunday, Oct. 10.
Winter wheat planting continued at an average pace, reaching 60% as of Sunday, equal to the five-year average. Winter wheat emerged was pegged at 31%, 4 percentage points behind of the five-year average of 35%.
"Kansas wheat is 63% planted, ahead of its usual pace," Hultman noted.
The following are some other highlights from this week's Crop Progress report:
Sorghum mature was 88%, 9 percentage points ahead of average. Sorghum harvested was 49%, 7 percentage points ahead of average.
Cotton bolls opening was 78%, 4 percentage points behind the average. Cotton harvested was 20%, 6 percentage points behind the average. Cotton condition was rated 64% good to excellent, up 2 percentage points from the previous week.
Rice harvested was 81%, 4 percentage points behind the average pace.
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To view weekly crop progress reports issued by National Ag Statistics Service offices in individual states, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/…. Look for the U.S. map in the "Find Data and Reports by" section and choose the state you wish to view in the drop-down menu. Then look for that state's "Crop Progress & Condition" report.
| National Crop Progress Summary |
| | This | Last | Last | 5-Year |
| | Week | Week | Year | Avg. |
| Corn Mature | 94 | 88 | 93 | 86 |
| Corn Harvested | 41 | 29 | 39 | 31 |
| Soybeans Dropping Leaves | 91 | 86 | 92 | 89 |
| Soybeans Harvested | 49 | 34 | 58 | 40 |
| Winter Wheat Planted | 60 | 47 | 66 | 60 |
| Winter Wheat Emerged | 31 | 19 | 39 | 35 |
| Cotton Bolls Opening | 78 | 70 | 89 | 82 |
| Cotton Harvested | 20 | 13 | 25 | 26 |
| Sorghum Mature | 88 | 79 | 88 | 79 |
| Sorghum Harvested | 49 | 38 | 47 | 42 |
| Rice Harvested | 81 | 73 | 81 | 85 |
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| National Crop Condition Summary |
| (VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent) |
| | This Week | | Last Week | | Last Year |
| | VP | P | F | G | E | | VP | P | F | G | E | | VP | P | F | G | E |
| Corn | 5 | 10 | 25 | 45 | 15 | | 5 | 10 | 26 | 45 | 14 | | 5 | 9 | 25 | 46 | 15 |
| Soybeans | 4 | 10 | 27 | 46 | 13 | | 4 | 10 | 28 | 46 | 12 | | 3 | 8 | 26 | 49 | 14 |
| Cotton | 1 | 5 | 30 | 54 | 10 | | 1 | 5 | 32 | 53 | 9 | | 12 | 18 | 30 | 31 | 9 |
| Sorghum | 4 | 12 | 29 | 44 | 11 | | 4 | 11 | 29 | 46 | 10 | | 5 | 12 | 33 | 38 | 12 |
Anthony Greder can be reached at [email protected]
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