US corn and soybean crop condition ratings improved this past week, defying market expectations for some minor deterioration.
Monday’s USDA crop progress report pegged the national corn and soybean crops both at 68% good to excellent as of Sunday, up a single point from a week earlier. Going into the report, most traders and analysts were anticipating a 1-point decline in the condition rating for both corn and soybeans.
Despite some weather problems in some areas, including too much rain and flooding in parts of the northwestern Corn Belt and bouts of scorching heat, crop conditions remain well above last year’s corn and soybean ratings of 55% and 51% good to excellent, respectively.
The condition of the Illinois and Indiana corn crops both improved 2 points on the week to 67% good to excellent as of Sunday, while the Iowa crop improved 3 points to 76%. The Michigan crop was unchanged from a week earlier at 74% good to excellent, while the Ohio crop improved 8 points to 74%. Over the past two weeks alone, the Ohio corn crop has gained an impressive 14 points. The condition of the North Dakota crop was steady on the week as well, holding at 70% good to excellent.
The Illinois and Indiana soybean crops improved 2 points on the week as well, climbing to 66% good to excellent, while the Iowa soy crop was up 4 points to 76%. The Michigan soybean crop gained a single point to 60% good to excellent, and Ohio was up a major 10 points on the week to 73%. On the other hand, the condition of the North Dakota crop slipped 6 points to 58% good to excellent.
Across the country, nearly one quarter of the corn crop (24%) had reached the silking stage of development as of Sunday, up from 11% a week earlier and ahead of 18% last year and 14% on average. An estimated 3% of the corn crop had reached the dough stage, compared to 2% for both last year and the average.
The nationwide soybean crop was 34% blooming as of Sunday, versus 20% a week earlier, 35% last year and 28% on average. The crop was 9% setting pods, up 6 points from the previous week and ahead of 8% last year and 5% on average.
