USDA Crop Progress - Winter Wheat Condition Holds Steady at 56% Good to Excellent

OMAHA (DTN) -- U.S. winter wheat conditions held steady, winter wheat heading was slightly ahead of the average pace and corn planting continued slightly ahead of normal last week, according to the USDA NASS weekly Crop Progress report released Monday.

The winter wheat crop, which is already in considerably better condition than it was last year at this time, should receive another beneficial shot of rain this coming week, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist Teresa Wells.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Crop condition: 56% of the crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week and up from 27% a year ago. Twelve percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, down from 37% a year ago. "Poor to very poor ratings were highest at 20% in Texas, 21% in Colorado and 14% in Kansas," said DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini. "North Carolina, Missouri, and Indiana -- all soft red states -- ranged from 74% to 77% good to excellent."

-- Crop development: 6% of winter wheat was headed as of Sunday, April 7. That is down 1 point from last year but 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 5%. "California's winter wheat is 40% headed, while Texas was at 27% and Arkansas wheat was 16% headed," Mantini noted.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Planting progress: 3% of spring wheat was planted as of Sunday, equal to the five-year average. "Idaho and Washington led the pack at 25% and 21% planted, respectively," Mantini said.

CORN

-- Planting progress: 3% of corn was planted nationwide as of Sunday, equal to last year but 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 2%. "Texas led all states, by far, at 59% planted," Mantini said.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

The Southern Plains, southern Delta and portions of the Southeast are forecast to receive more rain this week, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist Teresa Wells. Higher temperatures are expected in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest by the weekend, she said.

"This week will feature yet another active weather pattern, especially across the Southern and Eastern U.S.," Wells said. "A low-pressure system will exit the Midwest on Tuesday, and its trailing cold front will be a mechanism for producing areas of heavy rain showers and strong thunderstorms across the Southern Plains and Southern Delta.

"Portions of the Southeast will also face periods of rain showers and thunderstorms from Monday through Thursday before drier conditions return by the end of the week. DTN is forecasting up to 3-5 inches of rain for parts of Louisiana and Arkansas through Thursday, but isolated higher amounts of rain may exceed 6 inches in these states, which could lead to areas of flooding.

"Widespread, scattered rain showers and areas of thunderstorms will move across the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley on Wednesday into Thursday as a low-pressure system moves through the Eastern U.S. By Friday, most areas across the Ohio Valley will receive around 1-2 inches of rain.

"Much like areas across the Central U.S., the Eastern U.S. will have drier conditions return by this weekend. Additionally, temperatures are forecast to be near to above normal east of the Mississippi this week, while cooler temperatures are expected across parts of the High Plains. By this weekend, a warmer air mass will return to the Plains and Delta as temperatures rise 12-18 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in parts of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest by Sunday."

National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn Planted	3	2	3	2
Cotton Planted	5	3	5	6
Winter Wheat Headed	6	4	7	5
Spring Wheat Planted	3	1	1	3
Sorghum Planted	13	11	13	14
Oats Planted	34	30	27	28
Oats Emerged	26	25	25	23
Rice Planted	23	12	21	18
Rice Emerged	11	7	12	10

**

National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
	This Week						Last Week						Last Year
	VP	P	F	G	E		VP	P	F	G	E		VP	P	F	G	E
Winter Wheat	4	8	32	48	8		4	7	33	49	7		17	20	36	24	3