Jun 03, 2015
U.S. Corn Condition Rating holds Steady
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn - The condition of the 2015 U.S. corn crop held steady last week at 74% rated good to excellent. Seven states indicated that the early corn condition had improved last week and 9 states indicated that the corn condition had declined. Most of the improvements were found in the eastern and northwestern Corn Belt while most of the declines were found in the southern and western Corn Belt. The top five rated corn states are: Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Kentucky. The five states with the lowest rated corn are: Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
I will start to officially track the corn condition next week, but the condition of the corn crop this week is a little below last year's rating and higher than the 14-year average. The corn condition generally improves slightly during the month of June, probably because the plants take on a darker green color due to uptake of the nitrogen, and then it declines steadily throughout the summer before bottoming out in early September.
Soybeans - The first rating of the soybean crop will be released next Monday and it is expected to be slightly less than the corn rating. It will probably be in the range of 72% to 73% good to excellent. The soybean condition generally starts off good and then slowly declines as the growing season progresses.
Soil Moisture - The condition of the nation's topsoil got wetter last week. Fourteen states indicated that the topsoil moisture got wetter last week while only one state (North Carolina) indicated that the topsoil moisture declined last week with three states showing no change (Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota). The five states with the highest soil moisture are: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The five states with the driest soils are: North Carolina, South Dakota, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
I will also officially start to track the soil moisture next week, but as of now, the soil moisture is better than both last year and the 14-year average. The topsoil moisture generally declines throughout the summer before bottoming out the third week of August.