Jun 01, 2023

U.S. Corn 92% Planted vs. 84% Average, Soy 83% vs. 65% Average

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

U.S. farmers continue to plant the 2023 corn at an accelerated pace. The 2023 U.S. corn was 92% planted as of last Sunday compared to 84% last year and 84% average. This represents an advance of 11% for the week. The biggest weekly increase was in North Dakota which increased 40% to 72% planted compared to 73% average. The corn emergence was 72% compared to 58% last year and 63% average.

The first corn rating was issued earlier this week with the crop rated 1% very poor, 4% poor, 26% fair, 58% good, and 11% excellent. The top five rated corn states are Texas with 75% of the corn rated good/excellent, Tennessee with 78%, Wisconsin with 72%, Minnesota with 80%, and Ohio with 81%. The five lowest rated states are Pennsylvania with 34%, Missouri with 55%, Kansas with 52%, South Dakota with 65%, and Nebraska with 52%.

Farmers are planting their soybeans at an even faster pace than corn. The 2023 U.S. soybeans were 83% planted as of last Sunday compared to 64% last year and 65% average. The biggest weekly increase was in North Dakota which increased 33% to 53% planted compared to 55% average. The soybean emergence was 56% compared to 36% last year and 40% average. The first soybean rating will be issued on June 5th.

Farmers in North Dakota took advantage of improved planting conditions last week to quickly catch up to the average planting pace.

Recent weather has generally been dryer than normal across much of the Corn Belt. A short period of dryness at this time of the year does not necessarily hurt the emerging crops if it is not for an extended period. The five states with the best rated topsoil moisture are Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Tennessee. The five states with the lowest rated topsoil moisture are Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.