Heatwave Lowers Corn and Soybean Crop Condition Ratings 2 Points

With corn and soybean planting complete, the focus shifts to the stages and conditions of the crops.
As of June 19, 95% of the U.S. corn crop has emerged, which is an average pace, according to USDA. The crop conditions include:

• Very poor: 1%
• Poor: 5%
• Fair: 24%
• Good: 57%
• Excellent: 13%

The 70% in the good-to-excellent rating is two percentage points lower than last week’s 72%.

For soybeans, 94% of the crop is planted and 83% has emerged—both are on pace with the five-year average. Soybean condition ratings include:

• Very poor: 1%
• Poor: 5%
• Fair: 26%
• Good: 58%
• Excellent: 10%

The 68% in the good-to-excellent rating is two percentage points lower than last week’s 70%.

Winter wheat harvest was 25% complete as of June 19. That is three percentage points ahead of the average pace.

The Impact of Heat

Nearly every year the U.S. sees a ridge of high pressure developing across the country, says Brad Rippey, USDA meteorologist. But where this particular ridge is located, and how pronounced it ends up being, is what changes from year to year.

“You’ve got years like 1988, 1995, or 2012, where that ridge intensifies, moves across the Midwest and causes huge implications for corn and soybeans,” says Rippey. “Other years like 2011, we’ve got a powerful Ridge, but it stays parked over Texas and Oklahoma and New Mexico. Other years, we don’t have much of a ridge at all, it’s weaker, and it doesn’t really have major impacts on any major agricultural areas.”

Rippey says while the Corn Belt isn’t in key pollination time, it’s a different story farther south.

“That’s not going to have a big impact on the national number. But for these regional and state producers, it’s a big deal to see temperatures like 102 or 103 degrees when corn is silking, that is going to have an impact on that crop.”

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