Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Corn and Soy Ratings Slip Again

U.S. corn and soybean conditions declined during the week ended July 15 as hot, dry weather continued to take a toll on crops in the southwest portion of the growing belt.

Overall conditions remained better than normal, however, while crop development continued to speed along well ahead of normal. 

USDA rated U.S. corn conditions 72% good/excellent as of Sunday, down from 75% a week earlier, but still eight percentage points above a year earlier and two points above the five-year average. U.S. soybean conditions were rated 69% good/excellent, down from 71% a week earlier, but also eight percentage points above a year earlier and two points above the five-year average. 

USDA estimated that 63% of the U.S. corn crop was silking, far ahead of the 2017 pace of 37%, which was also the five-year average pace. Meanwhile, an estimated 65% of the U.S. soybean crop was said to be blooming, up from 49% a year earlier and the average pace of 45%, while 26% of the crop was already said to be setting pods, up from 15% last year and the average pace of 11%. 

Looking at top producing states, the portion of the corn crop rated good/excellent was steady with a week earlier in Iowa at 78% and in Nebraska at 86%. The good/excellent rating for the corn crop dropped 1 point to 80% in Illinois; fell 2 points to 77% in Minnesota and fell 4 points to 72% in Indiana. 

The portion of the soybean crop rated good/excellent slipped 1 point to 75% in Iowa and fell 2 points to 68% in Indiana, but held steady in Minnesota and Nebraska at 75% and 83% respectively. The portion of Illinois soybeans rated good/excellent rose 1 point to 73%. 

The biggest drops in crop conditions on the week came in Missouri and Michigan. The portion of the Missouri corn crop rated good/excellent nosedived by 15 percentage points to 33%, while the good/excellent rating for that state’s soybean crop slid to 40% from 48% a week earlier. In Michigan, the portion of the corn crop rated good/excellent slid 11 points to 55% amid dry weather, while the portion of the soybean crop rated good/excellent dropped by 10 points to 58%.