The U.S. corn harvest passed the halfway point last week, while soybean harvest advanced to two-thirds complete despite some delays due to wet weather in western and northern parts of the Midwest.
USDA pegged U.S. corn harvest progress at 52% as of Sunday, up from 42% a week earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 41%.
Soybean harvest progress was reported by USDA at 66%, up from 50% a week earlier and one percentage point ahead of the five-year average.
Harvest activity is already starting to wind down in the No. 2 producing state of Illinois, where 81% of the corn crop and 86% of the soybean crop has already been combined, ahead of the five-year averages of 61% and 72%, respectively.
In the top corn and soybean state of Iowa, corn harvest reached 37% complete, up from 22% a week earlier and ahead of the average of 29%.
Iowa soybean harvest progress was put at 71%, up from 58% a week earlier, but behind the average of 82%.
Editor’s note: Richard Brock, The Corn And Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.