USDA Crop Progress Report - Corn 9% Harvested, Soybeans 5% Harvested

OMAHA (DTN) -- Both the corn and soybean harvests continued ahead of the average pace last week as mostly dry conditions over much of the country swiftly pushed crops to maturity, USDA NASS stated in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday.

CORN

-- Crop progress: NASS said 90% of corn was dented, 3 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 87%. Fifty-four percent of the crop was mature, 16 percentage points ahead of last year's 38% and 10 points ahead of the five-year average of 44%.

-- Harvest progress: NASS estimated that 9% of the crop was harvested as of Sunday, up 4 points from the previous week and now 2 percentage points ahead of 7% for both last year and the five-year average.

-- Crop condition: NASS said 51% of the corn crop was rated good to excellent as of Sept. 17, down 1 point from 52% last week and 1 point lower than a year ago. The current rating is the lowest for this time of year since 2012, according to DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman. "The largest drops in this week's good-to-excellent ratings were in Colorado, Ohio, North Dakota and Illinois," Hultman said.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop progress: USDA said 54% of the crop was dropping leaves, 15 percentage points ahead of last year's 39% and 11 points ahead of the five-year average of 43%.

-- Harvest progress: In its first national soybean harvest report of the season, NASS estimated that 5% of the crop had been harvested as of Sunday, 2 points ahead of last year and 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 4%.

-- Crop condition: USDA said 52% of the soybean crop was rated good to excellent, unchanged from the previous week but below last year's rating of 55%. "States with lower ratings on the week outnumbered states with higher ratings," Hultman said. "Among this week's higher ratings for soybeans were Iowa and South Dakota."

SPRING WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: USDA said spring wheat harvest was 93% complete as of Sept. 17, equal to both last year and the five-year average. "North Dakota rose 9 points to 91%, and Minnesota is 98% harvested," noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini. "Idaho is the laggard, at 87% done."

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting advanced 8 percentage points last week to reach 15% complete as of Sunday. That is 4 points behind last year's 19% and 1 point behind the five-year average of 16%.

WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Precipitation later in the week could slow the row-crop harvest but may also help ease drought conditions in some areas, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"The first few days of the week will be mostly favorable for maturing corn and soybeans and for harvest," Baranick said. "A few showers and clusters of thunderstorms will be possible in parts of the Plains and Midwest, but nothing overly serious or widespread.

"But a big change will be coming midweek. A storm system will enter the Plains on Thursday with widespread showers and thunderstorms. That system will be a slow mover, as it only gets into the western Midwest this weekend. Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms are likely, and some severe weather will be possible as well. Where that system goes is still undetermined, as it gets cut off from the jet stream and could meander about the country a bit. Showers will be more isolated next week, but they could continue.

"There will be areas of heavy rain, and that certainly should have an impact on the harvest. But it'll be a double-edged sword, as it should help to ease drought that has been building over the last several weeks across the Corn Belt, and months across the South. Rains will help any immature crops but also forages and winter wheat establishment."