Aug 10, 2016

U.S. Corn Condition Declines 2%, Soybeans Unchanged

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

Corn - The condition of the 2016 U.S. corn crop declined 2% last week to 74% rated good to excellent. Eight states indicated that the corn condition had improved last week, 7 states indicated that the corn condition had declined last week, and 3 states indicated no change. Most of the improvements were found in the southern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the eastern and western Corn Belt. The top five rated corn states are: Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Colorado. The five worst corn states are: Ohio, Michigan, South Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

This is the first decline in corn condition since earlier in June. It remains to be seen if this the start of a trend or a one-week anomaly.

Soybeans - The condition of the 2016 U.S. soybean crop held steady last week at 72% rated good to excellent. Ten states indicated that the soybean condition improved last week, 7 states indicated that the condition declined last week, and 1 state indicated no change. Most of the improvements were found in the southern and northern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the eastern Corn Belt. The top five rated soybean states are: Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Illinois. The five worst soybean states are: Ohio, Michigan, South Dakota, Arkansas, and Kansas.

It's a good sign for the soybeans to be rated this good going into the important month of August.

Soil Moisture - The nation's topsoil moisture declined slightly last week with 5 states indicating that the soil moisture improved last week, 12 states indicating that the soil moisture declined last week, and 1 state was unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the southern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found throughout the Corn Belt. The top five rated states for soil moisture are: Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The five lowest rated states for soil moisture are: Ohio, Michigan, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

While the nationwide soil moisture declined only slightly last week, there was a significant decline in soil moisture in the eastern Corn Belt. Ohio is now the driest state with 70% of the soil rated short to very short on soil moisture followed by Michigan at 57% short to very short. Another area of dryness is in South Dakota where the soil is 52% rated short to very short followed by Nebraska at 36% short to very short.

2016 U.S. State Rankings
CornSoybeans
Weeks in Top FiveWeeks in Bottom FiveWeeks in Top FiveWeeks in Bottom Five
Wisconsin10Ohio8Wisconsin10Arkansas10
Minnesota10S. Dakota8Iowa10Kansas10
Colorado8Michigan8Minnesota9Michigan9
Iowa8Kansas7Tennessee9Missouri7
Illinois4Penn.5Nebraska6Ohio3
Tennessee3Texas5Illinois3N. Dakota2
Nebraska3Missouri4N.Dakota 2N.Carolina2
Penn.2N. Carolina3Kentucky2Illinois1
  N. Dakota3S. Dakota1Kentucky1
  Kentucky2  
  Indiana2