Idaho And Western United States SNOTEL Water Year (Oct 1) to Date Precipitation % of Normal (8/11)

USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report - Corn Rated 61% Good to Excellent; Soybeans 62% Good to Excellent as of Aug. 9

OMAHA (DTN) -- Corn condition ratings were unchanged for the second consecutive week while soybean ratings declined slightly, according to USDA NASS's weekly Crop Progress report released Monday.

A busy week of showers and thunderstorms is expected across much of the Corn Belt, while hot and dry conditions threaten crops in the South-Central states, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

CORN

-- Crop development: Corn silking was pegged at 94%, 1 percentage point ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 93%. Corn in the dough stage was estimated at 61%, 5 percentage points ahead of last year's 56% and 6 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 55%. Corn dented was estimated at 16%, 3 percentage points ahead of last year's 13% and 4 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 12%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 61% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, steady with the previous week and 11 percentage points below last year's 72%. Fourteen percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, equal to the previous week and 7 percentage points above the previous year's 7%. Iowa's corn crop was rated 78% good to excellent, compared with 66% in Indiana, 61% in Illinois and 47% in Kansas.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop development: Soybeans blooming was pegged at 93%, 3 percentage points ahead of last year's 90% and 2 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 91%. Soybeans setting pods were estimated at 74%, 5 percentage points ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 69%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 62% of soybeans that had emerged were in good-to-excellent condition, 1 percentage point below the previous week's 63% and 6 percentage points below the previous year's 68%. Soybean condition ratings were 77% good to excellent in Iowa, 59% in Illinois, 55% in South Dakota and 31% in North Dakota.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: Harvest moved ahead 5 percentage points last week to reach 91% complete nationwide as of Sunday. That was 2 percentage points ahead of last year's 89% and steady with the five-year average. Winter wheat harvest is nearing completion, with 95% harvested in South Dakota, 97% in Nebraska, 85% in Oregon, 67% in Washington and 50% in Montana among some of the remaining states.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: Spring wheat harvest jumped ahead 19 percentage points last week to reach 24% complete as of Sunday. That was 10 percentage points ahead of last year's pace of 14% and 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 19%. Spring wheat harvest is furthest along in South Dakota at 65% complete, followed by Washington at 30% and Minnesota at 28%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 51% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition nationwide, down 4 percentage points from the previous week's 55%.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

Much of the Corn Belt could see frequent rain and thunderstorms this week, while heat and dryness create stress for crops farther south, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"It appears to be a busy week across the Corn Belt as the weather pattern is really setting up to bring round after round of showers and thunderstorms to the vast majority of the primary croplands," Baranick said. "A big upper-level trough over Hudson Bay will provide periodic disturbances and energy while a big upper-level ridge across the South will provide the heat and humidity. A stalled front and those disturbances will ride between the two big features and create daily showers and thunderstorms from the Dakotas and Nebraska through the Ohio Valley, a setup that we expected to see more of during this El Nino summer. While that may produce some good rainfall, it may also produce frequent severe weather, and we'll have to monitor that closely throughout the week. Temperatures across the vast majority of the Corn Belt will be mild this week as well, keeping stresses low for those that don't see much precipitation.

"While this is overall good news for the Corn Belt, it's not so great for those in the South-Central states. The upper-level ridge will be the strongest there, making for some rather hot and dry conditions this week, being very stressful for filling crops in those areas. That may include southern Corn Belt states like Kansas, Missouri, southern Illinois and at least western Kentucky, Tennessee and the rest of the Delta region as well."

National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn silking	94	90	93	93
Corn dough	61	43	56	55
Corn dent	16	6	13	12
Soybeans blooming	93	88	90	91
Soybeans setting pods	74	62	69	69
Winter wheat harvested	91	86	89	91
Spring wheat harvested	24	5	14	19
Cotton squaring	93	88	92	93
Cotton setting bolls	65	55	64	67
Cotton bolls opening	10	4	8	9
Sorghum headed	61	52	63	65
Sorghum coloring	31	28	28	28
Oats harvested	63	48	53	55
Barley harvested	27	7	16	22
Rice headed	87	77	84	80
Rice harvested	14	9	10	9
Peanuts pegging	94	90	94	93

**

National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
	VP	P	F	G	E
Corn
This Week	4	10	25	48	13
Prev Week	4	10	25	48	13
Prev Year	2	5	21	52	20
DTN 5-Yr Avg	5	10	26	46	13
Soybeans
This Week	2	8	28	51	11
Prev Week	2	7	28	52	11
Prev Year	2	5	25	53	15
DTN 5-Yr Avg	4	10	28	47	11
Spring Wheat
This Week	3	13	33	44	7
Prev Week	2	10	33	48	7
Prev Year	5	13	33	44	5
DTN 5-Yr Avg	8	16	29	40	7
Rice
This Week	1	3	25	55	16
Prev Week	0	4	25	56	15
Prev Year	0	3	21	54	22
DTN 5-Yr Avg	1	3	22	58	17
Oats
This Week	8	16	30	40	6
Prev Week	8	16	29	41	6
Prev Year	8	10	24	49	9
DTN 5-Yr Avg	7	9	30	48	6
Barley
This Week	1	7	42	38	12
Prev Week	2	8	44	38	8
Prev Year	3	14	40	41	2
DTN 5-Yr Avg	1	7	39	48	4
Peanuts
This Week	1	6	29	56	8
Prev Week	1	6	29	55	9
Prev Year	0	3	23	61	13
DTN 5-Yr Avg	2	8	32	51	7
Cotton
This Week	6	16	38	33	7
Prev Week	5	15	38	34	8
Prev Year	7	11	29	43	10
DTN 5-Yr Avg	12	17	30	34	6

Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region - Storage Reservoirs in the Upper Snake River (8/10)

Average daily streamflows indicated in cubic feet per second.
Reservoir levels current as of midnight on date indicated.

Upper Snake River system is at 27 % of capacity.
(Jackson Lake,Palisades, Grassy Lake,Island Park,Ririe,American Falls,LakeWalcott)
Total space available:	2937647 AF
Total storage capacity:	4045695 AF

High Input-Cost Concerns Continue to Weigh on Farmer Sentiment

Farmer sentiment dropped again in June as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer (AEB) Index declined from 119 points in May to 113 points in June. The Index of Current Conditions fell by 5 points, while the Index of Future Expectations fell by 7 points. June’s Current Conditions Index was 26 points below its December 2025 reading, reaching its lowest level since December 2024. The percentage of respondents who listed high input costs as their biggest concern was 47% in June, with the concern about low crop and livestock prices at 23% coming in as a distant second. In a related question, 42% of respondents indicated that high input costs are limiting improvements in their financial position this year. The June barometer survey was conducted among 400 farmers across the country from June 15 to 19, 2026.

Only 12% of respondents indicated that their farm operations were better off in June than they had been a year ago. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, 22% of respondents expect their farms to be better off financially a year from now. The Farm Capital Investment Index fell 1 point to 40, its lowest level since September 2024.

As in last month’s survey, the June survey asked farmers to identify the main factor limiting improvement in their farm’s financial situation. High input costs were by far the most frequently cited constraint, selected by 42% of respondents. Low output prices ranked second at 17%, followed by weather risk at 14%, policy uncertainty at 11%, labor and equipment concerns at 9%, and debt or financial pressure at 8%.

This month’s survey included two questions related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or data-driven tools in agriculture. The first question asked survey respondents what they viewed as the main benefit of using these tools. Approximately 23% of respondents indicated that an increase in production would be the main benefit. Reducing labor and reducing risk or uncertainty were chosen by 14% and 11% of respondents, respectively. Meanwhile, 52% of respondents said they did not see a meaningful benefit. A second question asked whether recommendations arising from data-driven tools would be difficult to follow. Approximately 63% of respondents indicated that recommendations would be sometimes difficult to follow, while 22% indicated that recommendations would often be difficult to follow.

This month’s survey also examined agricultural exports and attitudes toward free trade. Approximately 43% of respondents expected agricultural exports to increase over the next five years, while only 9% expected agricultural exports to decline. Respondents were also asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “Free trade benefits agriculture and most other American industries.” Nearly 85% agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.

The Short-Term Farmland Value Expectations Index declined from 130 in May to 124 in June, while the long-term index increased to 166, tying its record high. Alternative investments, net farm income, and inflation were cited as the three factors with the greatest influence on farmland values.

Since July 2025, producers have been asked whether they think the U.S. is headed in the “right direction” or on the “wrong track.” After averaging 71% over the last six months of 2025, the percentage of producers who reported that the U.S. was headed in the “right direction” was 52% in May and 53% in June.

Wrapping Up

Farmer sentiment decreased from 119 in May to 113 in June, with declines in sentiment regarding both current conditions and future expectations. The percentage of producers who expected good times over the next five years was 32% in June, which is 17 percentage points lower than in the June 2025 survey results. There continued to be a large disparity in expectations between crop and livestock producers. Approximately 25% of respondents expected good times for crop producers, while 68% expected good times for livestock producers.

Input costs remained a top concern, with high input costs identified as the most important factor limiting improvements in financial performance. Despite concerns about the future, respondents remained optimistic regarding both short-term and long-term land values.