Aug 11, 2020
2020 U.S. Corn Condition Declines 1%, Soybeans Improve 1%
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn - The condition of the 2020 U.S. corn crop declined 1% last week to 71% rated good to excellent. Eight states indicated that the corn condition improved last week, 9 states indicated that the corn condition declined last week, and 1 was unchanged. There was no apparent pattern this week for the improvements and declines. The top five rated corn states are: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, and South Dakota. The five lowest rated corn states are: Colorado Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.
The corn condition is significantly better than the long term average for this point in August. The highest rated corn this summer has consistently been in the northern Corn Belt with the lowest rated corn in parts of the eastern and far western Corn Belt.
Soybeans - The condition of the 2020 U.S. soybean crop improved 1% last week to 74% rated good to excellent. Twelve states indicated that the soybean condition improved last week while 4 states indicated that the soybean condition declined last week, and 2 were unchanged. Most of the improvements were found across the Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central and eastern Corn Belt. The top five rated soybeans states are: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Louisiana, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The five lowest rated soybean states are: North Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, and North Dakota.
The condition of the soybean crop continues to be one of the best in years. The soybean condition has improved for three weeks in a row at a time of the year when the conditions normally decline. The crop is now significantly better than 2018 and the long term average. The highest rated soybeans are also in the northern Corn Belt with the lowest rated soybeans in the far eastern and far western Corn Belt.
Soil Moisture - The nation's topsoil got dryer last week with 1 state indicating improved soil moisture and 16 states indicating lower soil moisture, with 1 unchanged. The only improved soil moisture was in North Carolina. The five states with the best soil moisture are: Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Illinois. The five states with the lowest soil moisture are: Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Ohio.
After three weeks of improving soil moisture, the rainfall last week was more scattered resulting in declining soil moisture. Even with this week's decline, the soil moisture is still better than the long term average for the middle of August. The area that needed the rain the most was the western half of Iowa and they did receive some scattered rain on Sunday/Monday. In last week's U.S. Drought Monitor, Iowa was classified as 79% abnormally dry with 6% classified as extreme drought. The driest part of Iowa is the west-central region.