Jul 22, 2020
2020 U.S. Soy Entering Pod Set under Generally Good Conditions
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The 2020 U.S. soybean crop seems to be doing a little better than the corn. Soybeans are not bothered by high nighttime temperatures as long as they have adequate soil moisture. A good example is Brazil where at least half of the soybeans are grown under tropical conditions where the nighttime temperatures are almost always higher than what is typical across the Corn Belt.
The 2020 U.S. soybean crop condition improved 1% last week to 69% rated good to excellent. The soybeans are 64% blooming compared to 36% last year and 57% average. The soybeans are 25% setting pods compared to 6% last year and 21% average.
Up until this point, I think the soybeans have fared a little better than the corn basically because the crop has not yet entered into its critical reproductive phase. That is now about to change as more of the soybeans start to set pods and start to fill those pods. Over the last several weeks, the actual weather has turned out to be less threatening than what had been forecasted. The high pressure dome that everyone was worried about didn't last as long as predicted. The weather over the next four weeks will determine the eventual soybean yield.
What could harm the soybean crop going forward would be hot and dry conditions in early to mid-August as the pods are being filled.