Aug 08, 2017
U.S. Corn Crop Declines Slightly, Soybeans Improve Slightly
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn - The condition of the 2017 U.S. corn crop declined 1% last week to 60% rated good to excellent. Nine states indicated that the corn condition had improved last week and 9 states indicated that the corn condition had declined last week. Most of the improvements were found in the northern and eastern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central and western Corn Belt. The top five rated corn states are: Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, and North Carolina. The five lowest rated corn states are: South Dakota, North Dakota, Indiana, Kansas, and Colorado.
The weather over the past week was quite benign with cooler temperatures and occasional showers moving across the Midwest so it did not come as a surprise that the corn condition only declined slightly.
Soybeans - The condition of the 2017 U.S. soybean crop improved 1% last week to 60% rated good to excellent. Eleven states indicated that the soybean condition had improved last week while 6 states indicated that the soybean condition had declined last week and 1 state was unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the northern and eastern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central Corn Belt. The top five rated soybean states are: Louisiana, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Minnesota. The five lowest rated soybean states are: South Dakota, North Dakota, Ohio, Kansas, and Indiana.
The lack of heat and occasional rainfall this past week was generally beneficial for the soybean crop.
Soil Moisture - The nation's soil moisture improved slightly last week with 9 states indicating improved soil moisture while 8 states indicating lower soil moisture and 1 state was unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the southern and northern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central and eastern Corn Belt. The five states with the highest soil moisture are: Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, and Missouri. The five states with the lowest soil moisture are: South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Mississippi.
The one main production state that seemed to miss out on the rainfall last week and over the weekend was Iowa. The cooler temperatures were beneficial and they helped to hold down the crop stress, but the state got dryer last week with 56% of the state's soil moisture now rated short to very short.