Jun 08, 2021
2021 U.S. Crops Off to An Average Type of Start
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn - This is the second week that the corn condition has been reported and the condition of the 2021 U.S. corn crop declined 4 points to 72% rated good to excellent. Six states indicated that the corn condition improved last week while 11 states indicated that the corn condition declined, and 1 state was unchanged. Most of the improvements were found in the southern states while the declines were found generally across the Corn Belt. The top five rated corn states are: Texas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The five lowest rated corn states are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Michigan, and Indiana.
It is hard to make a long-term judgement of the crop based on the first few weeks of crop ratings. We will get a better idea about the crop once all the corn has emerged and started to grow. This week's condition is just a little lower than where we started last year.
Soybeans - This is the first week that the soybean condition is being reported and the 2021 U.S. soybean crop is rated 67% good to excellent. Generally, the highest rated soybeans are in the southern Corn Belt with the lowest rated soybeans in the northwestern Corn Belt. The top five rated soybean states are: Nebraska, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. The five lowest rated soybean states are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Michigan, and Kansas.
The soybeans are rated 67% good to excellent, but with only 76% of the crop emerged, this rating only partially reflects the condition of the soybean crop. The 2021 soybean crop is starting off about average.
Soil moisture - This is the second week that I have rated the soil moisture and the nation's topsoil dried out last week with 6 states indicating that the soil got wetter last week while 12 states indicated that the soil got dryer. The wetter conditions were found generally in the southern states. The five wettest states are: Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, and Missouri. The five driest states are: North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa.
The 2021 U.S. growing season is starting off with below average soil moisture. The longer-range forecast is calling for warmer and dryer conditions, so the soil moisture should start to decline in the weeks ahead. The soil moisture generally declines until the second or third week of August when it makes a small recovery going into the early fall.