USDA Crop Progress Report - 13% of Corn, 6% of Soybeans Left to Harvest

OMAHA (DTN) -- The U.S. row-crop harvest was in the home stretch and winter wheat conditions improved slightly last week, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday.

With rain and snow in the forecast for later this week, the end of harvest could be delayed in some northern parts of the country, according to DTN meteorologists.

CORN

-- Harvest progress: 87% of corn was harvested as of Sunday, Nov. 7, up 11 percentage points from the previous week. This year's harvest progress is now 4 percentage points ahead of last year's 83% and 11 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 76%. "Illinois is 88% done harvesting corn, and Iowa is 89% harvested," noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini. "Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are the slowest, at 37% harvested each."

SOYBEANS

-- Harvest progress: 94% of the crop was harvested as of Sunday, up 6 percentage points from the previous week. That is now 8 percentage points ahead of last year's 86% and 8 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 86%. "Illinois' soybean harvest is 94% done, and Iowa soybeans are 97% harvested," Mantini said.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: 92% of winter wheat was planted as of Sunday, 2 percentage points ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 90%.

-- Crop development: 73% of winter wheat was emerged as of Sunday, 1 percentage point behind the five-year average of 74%. Kansas' winter wheat is 68% emerged versus an average of 76%.

-- Crop condition: 30% of the crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition, up 2 percentage points from 28% the previous week but 15 percentage points below last year's rating of 45% good to excellent. "Kansas' winter wheat crop is rated at 26% good to excellent, up 2 points, with 42% rated very poor to poor, while Oklahoma's crop is rated 14% good to excellent, a gain of 3 percentage points," Mantini said.

WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

After a relatively calm start to the week, much of the country will see a dramatic change in weather later this week, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"The beginning of the week is a continuation from most of the last couple -- it's pretty warm east of the Rockies," Baranick said. "It's also relatively dry. There are some spotty showers out there, but not too many. However, that is going to change rather dramatically later this week, especially for northern areas.

"There is a deep trough in the western U.S., and it's going to send pieces of energy through the country in waves. The first is producing some stronger winds in the Northern Plains and Canadian Prairies along with a bit of snow. The snow should be heavier in Canada. The storm will leave behind a front across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Tuesday and Wednesday where scattered showers will develop, mostly as rain.

"But as the heart of the trough moves eastward into the Plains Wednesday night, the weather will change dramatically. A strong storm system will wrap up and head from northeast Colorado through Minnesota and Lake Superior. Precipitation along and north of the leftover front will increase substantially. Cold air that is being locked in Canada early this week will be sucked into the system and turn any rain over to snow. During the transition, there could be a band of freezing rain that develops. Heavy snow will continue over the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest through Friday. Snowfall could be measured in feet across the Dakotas and northern Minnesota. Winds with the system will be very strong and likely in the 50- to 60-mile-per-hour range that will cause blizzard conditions where the heavy snow occurs. The cold front could also produce some severe storms for the eastern Plains and western Midwest on Thursday. Showers will be less across rest of the country as the front sweeps through.

"Complicating things will be Subtropical Storm Nicole, who is currently east of the Bahamas and headed west. It will make a transition to a tropical storm and could be a hurricane as it heads into Florida on Thursday. Depending on the track and speed, the system is forecast to move through the Southeast on Friday and through the rest of the East Coast on Saturday. Heavy rain is likely and some locally breezy winds. Rainfall currently is forecast to occur along the spine of the Appalachians and points east, for the most part. If there is a westward shift in the track, heavier rain could get into the Tennessee and eastern Ohio valleys, which would at least temporarily help with river levels on the Mississippi River."