USDA Crop Progress - Corn 21% Harvested, Soybeans 26% Harvested as of Sept. 29

OMAHA (DTN) -- Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding and widespread crop damage across the Southeast U.S. over the weekend and likely caused some damage and harvest delays in parts of the Eastern Corn Belt and Midsouth as well. But at the national level, corn and soybean harvest progress continued to outpace the five-year averages, according to USDA NASS' weekly national Crop Progress report on Monday.

CORN

-- Crop development: Corn dented was estimated at 96%, 1 point behind last year's 97%, but 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 95%. Corn mature was pegged at 75%, 4 points behind last year's 79% but 5 points ahead of the five-year average of 70%. "North Dakota and Pennsylvania were lagging at just 39% and 42% mature," noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini.

-- Harvest progress: The pace of the corn harvest picked up slightly last week, moving ahead 7 percentage points to reach 21% complete as of Sunday. That was equal to last year's pace but 3 points ahead of the five-year average of 18%. "Illinois' corn was 21% harvested, and Iowa was just 11% done," Mantini said.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 64% of corn still in fields was in good-to-excellent condition, down 1 point from 65% the previous week but above last year's 53%. Twelve percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, unchanged from the previous week but below 18% last year.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop development: Soybeans dropping leaves were pegged at 81%, 1 point behind last year's 82% but 8 points ahead of the five-year average of 73%.

-- Harvest progress: Soybean harvest gained momentum last week, moving ahead 13 percentage points to reach 26% complete as of Sunday, 6 points ahead of last year's 20% and 8 points ahead of the five-year average of 18%. "Illinois' soybeans were 24% harvested, and Iowa's harvest was 27% complete," Mantini noted.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 64% of soybeans still in fields were in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week but still above last year's rating of 52% good to excellent.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting moved ahead 14 points last week to reach 39% nationwide as of Sunday, 3 points ahead of last year's 36% and 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 38%. "Washington and Nebraska are leading the pack at 71% planted, while Kansas is 32% done planting winter wheat," Mantini said.

-- Crop development: An estimated 14% of winter wheat was emerged as of Sunday, 1 point ahead of both last year and the five-year average of 13%.

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THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

While the Southeastern U.S. recovers from devastating flooding due to Hurricane Helene, much of the central U.S. and Western Corn Belt will continue to be warm and mostly dry this week, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"Horrific and historic flooding due to Hurricane Helene and its remnants in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee may have been all the talk in the news, but it also had huge impacts for open-boll cotton in Georgia and the Carolinas, along with some corn and soybean acres there as well," Baranick said. "Breezy winds and heavy rain may have also caused some damage to those in the Midwest and Midsouth as well as delaying harvest. But it's always a double-edged sword this time of year. These areas really needed the rain to help reduce drought, build up soil moisture for winter planting, and boost water levels on the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi river systems. All three of these were accomplished.

"The remnants to Helene are still floating through the Eastern Corn Belt, but a front moving through the Northern Plains early Monday will push that out on Tuesday. This front is not forecast to bring much rain but will drop temperatures closer to normal than the heat we have seen building away from the clouds associated with the hurricane's remnants. Temperatures will be very up-and-down this week, as three fronts will move through the country, bringing brief bursts of mild air but will quickly be replaced by warm air again. None of these fronts are forecast to bring much rain, leaving warm and dry conditions for most areas to continue with dry-down and harvest. That forecast is not all that favorable for winter wheat in the southwestern Plains, though, which were dry most of last week and continue to be dry for the foreseeable future.

"Though the current forecast is mostly dry, we will have to watch the Gulf of Mexico yet again, as there could be another disturbance or two developing there later this week and weekend."

National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn Dented	96	92	97	95
Corn Mature	75	61	79	70
Corn Harvested	21	14	21	18
Soybeans Dropping Leaves	81	65	82	73
Soybeans Harvested	26	13	20	18
Winter Wheat Planted	39	25	36	38
Winter Wheat Emerged	14	4	13	13
Cotton Bolls Opening	72	63	72	71
Cotton Harvested	20	14	17	16
Sorghum Coloring	96	92	95	96
Sorghum Mature	69	60	67	64
Sorghum Harvested	35	29	33	32
Rice Harvested	78	71	72	67

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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
Corn	4	8	24	49	15		4	8	23	50	15		6	12	29	43	10
Soybeans	3	8	25	52	12		3	8	25	52	12		5	12	31	43	9
Sorghum	8	15	32	37	8		8	14	34	36	8		11	17	31	32	9
Cotton	17	20	32	27	4		14	19	30	32	5		24	19	27	25	5