Market News & Headlines >> Corn, Soy Ratings In Line With Average

Monday afternoon’s USDA weekly crop update showed U.S. corn and soybean conditions deteriorated a bit more than expected for a second straight week.

USDA pegged U.S. corn conditions at 68% good/excellent, down from 70% a week earlier and 1 point below the average of trade expectations according to a Reuters News Service poll. The crop rating was still 6 percentage points above a year earlier, but was only level with the five-year average for the week. Some 65% of the U.S. soybean crop was estimated to be in good/excellent condition, down from 66% a week earlier and also 1 point below the average of trade expectations. The soybean crop rating was 5 percentage points above a year earlier, but was on par with the five-year average. 

Both corn and soybean crop development remained ahead of normal. USDA estimated that 85% of the U.S. corn crop had reached the dough stage as of Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 72%, while 44% of the crop had already dented versus the average pace of only 26%.  An estimate 91% of the U.S. soybean crop was said to be setting pods, ahead of the average pace of 83%. 

Looking at conditions in the top corn growing states, the good/excellent rating fell by 2 points to 73% in Iowa and dropped by 3 points in Minnesota to 74%, while it was unchanged at 76% in Illinois and at 71% in Indiana. The Nebraska good/excellent rating rose 1 point to a stellar 84%. 

In the top soybean states, the good/excellent rating for the crop fell 2 points in Iowa to 70% and slid 5 points in Minnesota to 67%, but was steady in Illinois at 74% and rose 2 points in Indiana to 71%. The Nebraska rating also rose 1 point to 81%.