USDA Crop Progress - Corn Rated 65% Good to Excellent, Soybeans 65% Good to Excellent as of Sept. 1

OMAHA (DTN) -- Corn conditions held while and soybean conditions fell last week, according to USDA NASS' weekly national Crop Progress report released Tuesday.

Corn was rated 65% in good-to-excellent condition, the same as last week's report. Soybeans were rated 65% good to excellent, down 2 points from 687% the previous week.

Spring wheat was 70% harvested.

Both crops also appear to be reaching maturity ahead their five-year averages, NASS reported.

CORN

-- Crop development: Corn in the dough stage was estimated at 90%, 2 percentage points behind last year's 92% but right at the five-year average mark. Corn dented was estimated at 60%, behind last year by 2 percentage points, but 2 points ahead of the five-year average of 58%. Corn mature was pegged at 19%, which is 4 points ahead of last year's 15% and 7 points ahead of the five-year average of 13%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated 65% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, the same as last week but still above last year's 53%. Twelve percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, down from 13% the previous week but below 17% last year.

"That portion of the crop rated poor to very poor fell by 1 point to 12%. Illinois and Iowa are still highly rated at 71% and 77% good to excellent, respectively, with Missouri 79% good to excellent," noted DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop development: Soybeans setting pods were estimated at 94%, the same as last year, but 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 93%. Soybeans dropping leaves were pegged at 13%, also the same as last year and ahead of the five-year average of 10%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated 65% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, down 2 points from the previous week but still above last year's rating of 54% good to excellent.

"Illinois is at 68% good to excellent (up 4%), Iowa is unchanged at 77% good to excellent," Mantini said.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: Spring wheat harvest picked up speed last week, jumping ahead 19 percentage points to reach 70% complete as of Sunday. That brought this year's harvest progress to two points higher than last year's 68% and right at the five-year average of 70%. "North Dakota is at 61%, catching up from last week and Minnesota also accelerated to 75% harvested," Mantini said.

WINTER WHEAT

USDA also reported early progress on winter wheat planting at 2% nationally compared to 1% for the same week last year, and right at the five-year average. Washington State was 22% planted, which is 7 points above the five-year average. Colorado was 7% planted and South Dakota was 5% planted.

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THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

A front that went through late last week brought widespread areas of rain, which was beneficial in some areas like Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, but not in Minnesota or Wisconsin. But when the front went through later in the week, showers became much more spotty and missed a lot of key areas in the Southern and Eastern Corn Belt, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick

"And in some of these southern areas, the rain came too late," Baranick said. "Harvest is starting up in some areas this week with an increase over the next week or two. Maturing crops do not need the moisture and it would undoubtedly be detrimental for some."

This week is much cooler and drier for most areas. Last week's front has settled near the Gulf Coast and is bringing some needed rain for Texas, which will help with winter wheat planting in the weeks to come. Another front will sweep through the country later this week and will bring some limited showers. But most areas will remain dry and the showers that do occur are likely to be light.

"That is not a lot of help for those that need the rain, but for those that don't, it should not be too wet," Baranick said. "The front will also bring through a burst of colder air."

Models are currently calling for lows in the 40s across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes this weekend, but we could see some widespread 30s.

"I wouldn't be too shocked to see a couple of very unlucky areas reach the freezing mark or close to it," Baranick said. "If that does occur, it would be devastating for these northern areas that largely planted late due to wet ground or had slower development from a lack of summer heat. That will be something to closely watch this week."

National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn Dough	90	84	92	90
Corn Dented	60	46	62	58
Corn Mature	19	11	15	13
Soybeans Setting Pods	94	89	94	93
Soybeans Dropping Leaves	13	6	13	10
Spring Wheat Harvested	70	51	68	70
Cotton Setting Bolls	95	89	93	94
Cotton Bolls Opening	37	25	30	31
Sorghum Headed	95	90	92	94
Sorghum Coloring	62	48	57	59
Sorghum Mature	30	23	26	26
Sorghum Harvested	19	18	18	20
Oats Harvested	89	78	88	89
Barley Harvested	75	47	75	76
Rice Harvested	43	33	31	24

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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	23	50	15		5	8	22	49	16		6	12	29	44	9
Soybeans	3	7	25	52	13		2	7	24	54	13		5	12	30	44	9
Sorghum	6	13	31	42	8		7	13	32	40	8		10	16	30	36	8
Cotton	12	16	32	34	6		12	16	32	34	6		23	21	23	28	5
Rice	1	3	19	62	15		-	4	17	64	15		1	5	24	55	15