Jun 26, 2018
U. S. Corn Condition Declines Slightly, Soybeans Unchanged
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn - The condition of the 2018 U.S. corn crop declined 1% this week to 77% of the crop rated good to excellent. Six states indicated that the corn condition improved last week, 10 states indicated that the corn condition declined last week, and 2 were unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the western Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central and eastern Corn Belt. The top five rated corn states are: Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The five lowest rated corn states are: Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Kansas, and Pennsylvania.
Ample rainfall last week kept the corn crop in generally good condition. Some areas received too much rain last week resulting in localized ponding.
Soybeans - The condition of the 2018 U.S. soybean crop held steady last week with 73% of the soybeans rated good to excellent. Seven states indicated that the soybean condition improved last week, 9 states indicated that the soybean condition declined last week, and 2 were unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the southern and western Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the central Corn Belt. The top five rated soybean states are: Wisconsin, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Illinois. The five lowest rated soybean states are: Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, Louisiana, and South Dakota.
Soybeans do not like saturated conditions which can result in an increase of root diseases, so we need to watch for that going forward especially if there is more rain in the already saturated areas.
Soil Moisture - The nation's soil moisture improved last week with 14 states indicating that the soil moisture improved and 4 states indicating that the soil moisture declined last week. Most of the improvements were found all across the Midwest while the declines were found in the southern locations. The top five rated states for soil moisture are: Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The five driest states are: Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, and North Carolina.
With the frequent rains that moved across the Midwest last week, it is no surprise that the soil moisture improved and the soil moisture is now better than the long term average. In fact, some areas got too much rainfall in places like southwestern Minnesota, northwestern Iowa, southeastern South Dakota, northern Illinois, and southern Wisconsin. As a result, ponding and saturated conditions are being reported in some of those areas.