USDA Crop Progress Report - Corn 71% Harvested, Soybeans 85% Harvested as of Oct. 29

OMAHA (DTN) -- Despite heavy precipitation that fell over much of the Plains and Midwest last week, the U.S. corn and soybean harvests overall managed to stay ahead of the five-year averages, USDA NASS reported in its weekly Crop Progress report on Monday.

CORN

-- Harvest progress: Corn harvest moved ahead 12 percentage points to reach 71% complete as of Sunday. That is 3 percentage points behind last year's pace of 74% but still 5 percentage points ahead of 66% for the five-year average. "Illinois is 81% harvested, and Iowa is at 77%," noted DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman. "Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin have the furthest to go at 29%, 30% and 35% harvested, respectively."

SOYBEANS

-- Harvest progress: Soybean harvest progressed 9 percentage points to reach 85% complete as of Sunday. That is 2 points behind last year's 87% but 7 points ahead of the five-year average of 78%. "Illinois is 89% harvested, and Iowa is at 93%," Hultman said. "North Carolina is only 34% harvested, not unusual for this time of year."

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting advanced 7 percentage points last week to reach 84% complete as of Sunday. That is 2 percentage points behind last year's 86% and 1 point behind the five-year average of 85%.

-- Crop progress: 64% of the crop had emerged as of Sunday, 4 points ahead of last year's 60% but equal to the five-year average.

-- Crop condition: In its first condition rating for the 2024 crop, USDA NASS rated winter wheat condition at 47% good to excellent, up from 28% at this time a year ago. Kansas' winter wheat was rated 32% good to excellent.

WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Another burst or two of showers is expected for Northern areas of the country this weekend, which will likely keep fieldwork limited in that part of the country, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"Heavy precipitation fell over a lot of the Plains and Midwest over the last week," Baranick said. "That should have increased soil moisture for winter wheat establishment and eased drought conditions. But with the cold that followed and snow across the north, it'll be much more difficult to complete the remaining fieldwork. Hard freezes are also not a good thing for emergent wheat, either slowing its development or guiding it toward dormancy.

"But the showers are less frequent this week across the South. A front continues to push eastward and is letting the cold air in, which will produce frosts and freezes all the way down toward the Gulf of Mexico by midweek. Across the North, a small but potent system will bring areas of light snow accumulation to the Midwest. And the pattern stays active with showers moving into the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains late week that may continue eastward for the weekend. Another burst or two of showers are expected for Northern areas this weekend as well, which will keep fieldwork limited."