Crop Progress Update: Planters Pick Up Steam Across Most States

USDA’s fourth Crop Progress report of 2024 shows both corn and soybean planting is continuing across 18 states.

Planted corn has broken through the soil and emerged in 8 states with Texas farmers currently having the most green above ground (55%), according to USDA data. North Carolina has the next highest emergence rate at 26% - six points over its five year average.

Nationally, USDA reports 8% of the country’s soybean crop is in the ground, which is five points ahead of last year and four points above the average pace. USDA shows soybean planting is ahead of average in all states that have reported so far, save for a small handful of states that are either right at or slightly below the five year average.

Other soybean planting progress highlights include:

• Louisiana (+22%) Arkansas (+17%), and Mississippi (+12%) added the most planted acres for the week.
• Several major soybean growing states including both Dakotas, Ohio, and Michigan are reporting very little to no planting progress thus far.

Corn planting is 12% complete across the U.S., right on par with last year at this time and two points ahead of the five-year-average pace.

Other corn planting highlights include:

• Tennesse corn acres planted increased by 18%, from 13% planted last week to 31% in the ground.
• Iowa currently stands at 13% planted, while Illinois (11%) is slightly ahead and Indiana (2%) slightly behind the five-year-average.
• Missouri farmers enjoyed the week’s biggest acreage added bump, tacking on 21 percentage points of corn acres planted progress.

Farmer Perspective

Kansas farmer and livestock producer Jeff Koelzer works ground just north of Onaga. He finished corn planting about a week ago after six straight days (no breakdowns!) running the planter. He is still waiting for the right conditions to get his beans in the ground, tending to his herd in the meantime.

Overall, that’s pretty normal for his neck of the woods.

“You know, when I was younger, we always used to want to start planting by April 20, and now all of a sudden we’re wanting to get done by April 20,” he told Farm Journal’s Tyne Morgan. “So it’s really changing.”

Koelzer worries that soil moisture levels are already “very, very dry” in his area. It doesn’t surprise him that 26% of Kansas’ 2024 corn and only 6% of its soybean crop is in the ground.

"(Farmers) are going to plant whenever they normally do, they’re not going to push the envelope,” he says. “This year you could buy crop insurance to plant your corn or beans earlier, but you had to pay extra. We did not do that, of course, but there were some farmers that took advantage of that.”

Koelzers’ two biggest concerns for this year’s crop are getting everything sprayed on time, and moisture levels.

“The last three or four years, we’ve had great corn yields, we really have,” he says."Our bean yields in this area have been probably county average or just a pinch above the last two years, but corn yields have been just phenomenal.”

Photos of Planting Progress

Off to a solid start in Iowa:

Hammer down indeed, Matt!

Hammer down #plant24 #johndeere
He is making me look slow going 10mph pic.twitter.com/qPA6cFxS6j

Nice drone view of corn planting in Nebraska:

Indiana farmers are ready to go!

How is #plant24 progressing in your neck of the woods? Follow AgWeb on Facebook and let everyone know where you stand vs. the rest of the U.S.