Corn harvest is almost to the halfway point in what some farmers are starting to say will be a "long fall," while soybean harvest continues to progress closer to the average pace, according to Monday's USDA-NASS Crop Progres report.
Forty-six percent of the nation's corn crop is in the bin, Monday's data show. Last week's weather window allowed solid progress; a week ago, 31% of the crop was harvested. Despite that 15% 1-week jump, this year's progress thus far is still almost 20% off the average pace of 65%. According to Monday's report, farmers in all the Corn Belt states made double-digit progress.
Soybean harvest went from 53% to 70% finished in the last week leading up to Sunday, and though strides remain longer for that crop's progress, it's still behind the normal pace of 76%. Progress in the Midwest was the most brisk over the last week; Iowa farmers got 20% of that state's soybean crop harvested in the last week, while Missouri farmers got 21% of that state's crop out.
"The agreeable weather last week allowed many farmers to make good harvest progress, but with 36% of corn and 81% of soybeans harvested we remain behind the 5-year average," Iowa ag secretary Bill Northey said Monday. "Wet fields and rain showers continue to slow progress in some areas and hopefully warm, dry weather will allow harvest to progress in a timely manner."
The weather is expected to remain mostly favorable for sustained harvest progress, with just a few interruptions from showers in spots around the Midwest, in the next week to 10 days, forecasters said Monday.
Another Week Of Solid Harvest Progress Expected
Monday's data weren't drastically different from what the trade expected going into the report; corn harvest is slightly behind what traders anticipated, while soybean progress is right on what was expected. That means any market reaction from the data heading into Tuesday's trade will likely be light, says Kluis Commodities market analyst and broker Al Kluis. That's especially true coming on the heels of the double-digit rally seen in both the corn and soybean pits on Monday.
