USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report - 72% of Corn, 50% of Soybeans Planted Week Ended May 22

OMAHA (DTN) -- U.S. farmers logged another productive week last week, pushing corn planting to near the three-fourths completion mark and soybean planting to the halfway point, USDA NASS said in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday.

The gains came despite weather being a limiting factor to planting in some parts of the country.

"Two different storm systems brought widespread showers to the majority of the country last week," said DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick. "Heavy rain fell in North Dakota, while more fell from eastern Kansas through Missouri and Arkansas and just about all areas east of the Mississippi River. A mix of rain and snow fell in Colorado on Friday and Saturday, amounting to over a foot on the Palmer Divide. Other areas in the Western Corn Belt saw more spotty and streaky precipitation events over the week, which may have allowed for some better progress."

CORN

-- Planting progress: 72% nationwide as of Sunday, May 22, another substantial jump of 23 percentage points from 49% the previous week. That continued to push planting closer to the five-year average, now 7 percentage points behind the average of 79%.

-- Notable states: Farmers in the "I" states again made significant progress last week. Illinois' corn planting jumped ahead 23 percentage points to reach 78% complete as of Sunday and is now equal to the state's five-year average. Indiana moved ahead 24 percentage points to reach 64% complete, just 4 percentage points behind average. And Iowa jumped ahead 29 percentage points last week to reach 86%, now just 3 percentage points behind normal. Farmers in the Dakotas also were able to speed up field work, with planting in North Dakota moving ahead 16 percentage points to reach 20% complete, still 46 percentage points behind normal; and South Dakota advancing 31 percentage points to reach 62% complete, 9 percentage points behind normal.

-- Crop development: 39% of corn was emerged as of Sunday, up 25 percentage points from the previous week and 12 percentage points behind the five-year average of 51%.

SOYBEANS

-- Planting progress: 50% nationwide as of Sunday, up 20 percentage points from the previous week. That is now 5 percentage points behind the five-year average of 55%.

-- Notable states: The "I" states saw significant progress again last week. Illinois' soybean planting advanced 24 percentage points to reach 62% complete, 5 percentage points ahead of the state's five-year average of 57%. Indiana moved ahead 22 percentage points to reach 50% complete, just 3 percentage points behind the average of 53%. Iowa jumped ahead a whopping 35 percentage points to reach 69% complete, 2 points ahead of the average pace of 67%. Nebraska was also ahead of its average pace, at 72% complete as of Sunday compared to the state average of 69%.

-- Crop development: 21% of soybeans had emerged nationwide as of Sunday, 5 percentage points behind the five-year average of 26%.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Crop development progress: 63% of the winter wheat crop was headed nationwide as of Sunday, 2 percentage points behind the five-year average of 65%.

-- Notable states: Kansas' winter wheat was 86% headed as of Sunday, 6 percentage points ahead of the state's five-year average of 80%. Oklahoma's crop was 95% headed, just 1 percentage point behind the five-year average of 96%. Nebraska's winter wheat heading jumped to 27%, equal to average. Texas' crop was 92% headed, 4 percentage points behind the average of 96%. South Dakota's crop was just 1% headed compared to the average of 6%.

-- Crop condition: Nationwide, winter wheat was rated 28% good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from 27% the previous week. That's the lowest such rating since the drought of 1989, noted DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman.

A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD

Farmers are in for another active weather week that could delay planting in some areas but open a brief window for planting in the Northern Plains, according to Baranick.

"There is a tropical low-pressure center in the Southeast, producing heavy rain Monday and Tuesday," he said. "And a larger system is exiting the Rockies into the Plains where heavy rain will fall for the Central and Southern Plains and all areas to the east. The system will be a slow mover, which should allow rainfall amounts to pile up and create planting delays.

"While some showers will fall in the Northern Plains on Monday, the rest of the workweek looks to be fairly dry. We could see conditions allow for more advanced planting in North Dakota and the surrounding areas to possibly make up for a lot of the large gap that has occurred. Unfortunately, the window will be short. Another system will move into the Northern Plains on Friday night and continue to produce scattered showers across the Midwest and Central Plains over the weekend and into next week."