Many farmers will be making their way through their final fields this week as planting begins to wrap up.
According to USDA’s latest crop progress report, 91% of corn acres and 78% of soybean acres have been planted. That’s an increase of 8% and 10%, respectively, from last week. While both crops remain significantly behind last year’s progress, they are still on track with the 5-year average.
Of the 18 states USDA tracks, 10 have reached at least 90% of corn acres planted — with North Carolina reporting 100% — and half of them report 80% of soybeans in the ground.
The majority of these states had roughly four suitable days for fieldwork last week by USDA’s standards. Pennsylvania is the outlier with seven suitable days, which makes it no surprise they were able to make the most progress in corn planting (17% increase). South Dakota also used their five suitable days to make a 17% jump in soybeans.
There was also a large jump in crop emergence, with corn reaching 74% emerged and soybeans 55% emerged.
Early corn is loving this weather #plant24 pic.twitter.com/BlYH9u5PxC
— Justin Harre (@jharre611) May 29, 2024
Across the country, many growers are celebrating successfully getting their crops in the ground — despite a challenging start to the season.
#plant24 is a wrap, nice to have moisture, even though it came in different forms. pic.twitter.com/78DlN8haAX
— Allison farms (@Allisonfarms) May 31, 2024
That’s it that’s all! Been another adventure in seeding for 2024! #Plant24 pic.twitter.com/FPE7kxzckX
— Warren (@wstevenson4) June 1, 2024
This is the first week USDA’s report included corn condition. Just over half (53%) is in good condition and 30% is in fair condition, but it’s most likely too soon to use this as an accurate measurement for the crop.
USDA's weekly Crop Progress report will release the first corn condition rating this afternoon. Of note, ratings at this time of year are a relatively inaccurate measurement of final yields. The first report explains only 13% of final yields. Accuracy increases in July. pic.twitter.com/pJwjY9TEp7
— Rich Nelson (@RichNelsonMkts) June 3, 2024
BAMwx chief communications officer and meteorologist Bret Walts joined Monday’s episode of AgriTalk to share the week ahead looks promising for planting progress. According to Walts, states east of Iowa will have a bit more of an active weather pattern while those further west will experience some sporadic rain patches. Overall, he says this looks like it could be the best chance for five days of dry time in the Corn Belt since winter.
