Crop Conditions Remain Resilient

For the third week in a row, USDA has announced in its Crop Progress report that 72 percent of the U.S. corn crop is in good-to-excellent condition. The current 72 percent rating is 11 percentage points above last year’s rating of 61 percent. For further perspective, the five-year average for corn crops of 69 percent good-to-excellent places today’s static condition of 72 percent as the best in years. USDA reported 9 percent of the corn crop in poor to very poor condition, which remains in line with the past three weeks as well.

Analysts predicted corn and soybean crop conditions to decline slightly, about 1 percent for the week ending July 29, citing the dryness spreading throughout the Midwest. However, conditions have remained robust, with soybeans ratings holding at 70 percent good-to-excellent condition. The current rating is also 11 percentage points higher than the prior year’s level and 4 percentage points above the five-year average of 66 percent. Eight percent of the soybean crop is in poor or very poor condition, unchanged from the prior week. Figure 1 and Figure 2 highlight the progression of this year’s good-to-excellent crop conditions.