Crop Conditions
Even with rains hitting areas of the Plains and Corn Belt last week, U.S. corn planting progressed to 95% complete, a five-point bump in a week and three percentage points ahead of last year’s pace.
It’s a steady theme since USDA introduced corn crop condition ratings this year. The quality of the crop continues to decline, with corn dropping 4 points each week. Soybean conditions also fell.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly 10% of the contiguous U.S. is now under an “exceptional drought,” which is the highest the rate has been since 2011.
USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says dryness is a major factor impacting corn condition ratings in some areas. U.S. corn crop condition ratings dropped another 4 points this week, according to the latest USDA report.
USDA’s weekly Crop Progress report released Monday shows the corn crop condition ratings fell nationwide, down to 65% good to excellent. That compares to the 68% rated posted last week.
Wild weather over the weekend left some farmers are assessing the damage. Powerful winds and heavy rain hit some fields hard, with down corn as a result. after weekend rains and winds hit some fields hard.
Federal and state water projects say they will provide little to no irrigation water to many agricultural customers, so farmers must calculate how much food they can grow with their limited supplies.
Colder temperatures headed your way? Consider parking your planter for a few days. Worried you need to replant a field? Free tools available here to help you make the decision.
While corn and soybean prices continue to march higher, farmers are making progress getting the 2021 corn, soybean and cotton crops in the ground.
“Over the last 20 years, we’ve never seen a drought situation looking like this through February,” says Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Eric Snodgrass.
Hard late-March rains in Argentina have set the stage for smooth wheat and barley sowing, but the storms arrived too late to help corn and soy yields in areas that had been pounded by months of dry weather.
As the industry tries to get the scope of damage in Iowa, Pro Farmer editor Brian Grete takes you into a damaged corn field to show viewers why measuring the derecho damage was so difficult this year.
As of June 16, USDA estimates 92% of the U.S. corn crop has been planted.
Some market analysts say the May 20 crop progress report from USDA will show the potential for trendline corn yields this year is now gone.
Estimates ranged from a high of 200 bpa to a low of 102 bpa, averaging 160-plus.
The area hit encompasses 14 million acres of insured crops, including 8.2 million corn acres and 5.6 million acres of soybeans
Dryness remains the biggest concern in the West, but moisture may be making its way to those areas this week. For crops in the Midwest looking for a drink, the forecast doesn’t look very promising.
The Granular Insights Directed Scouting tool helps farmers wade through massive amounts of data to help keep crop health top-of-mind.
The report, which is the first of the season to include silking and blooming data, shows just how far behind the corn and soybean crops continue to be.
Crop conditions are so variable this year, analysts say we won’t have an accurate grasp of the impact on both yield and abandonment until later this summer.
Here are five tips in using technology to make scouting easier and more effective.