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Ratings Fall Slightly For Corn And Beans

Overall U.S. ratings for the corn and soybean crops dropped only slightly last week as improved conditions in the central and eastern Midwest offset the impact of severe heat and moisture stress in the northwest part of the growing belt.

USDA rated U.S. corn conditions 62% good/excellent as of Sunday, down from 63% a week earlier, but up from 55% a year earlier.

U.S. soybean conditions were rated 57% good/excellent, down from 58% the previous week, but up from 53% a year earlier.

The Iowa corn crop rating held stable at 65% good/excellent, while Illinois conditions improved to 67% good/excellent from 63% a week earlier. Corn conditions also improved in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri and held relatively stable in Nebraska.

Iowa soybean ratings improved to 67% good/excellent from 65%, while the Illinois crop improved to 59% good/excellent from 57%.

Soybean condition ratings also improved across Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The impact of extreme weekend heat and below normal rainfall was most evident in Minnesota and North Dakota. The portion of the Minnesota corn crop rated good/excellent fell 17 percentage points to 52%, while the state’s soybean rating fell 16 points, also to 52% good/excellent.

Crops continued to develop faster than normal, with 51% of the U.S. corn crop said to be silking as of Sunday, well ahead of the five-year average of 38%.

Some 60% of U.S. soybeans were said to be blooming, down from 61% a year earlier, but up from a five-year average of 48%. Also, 16% of the U.S. crop is already setting pods, ahead of the average of 11%.

Editors 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.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at

http://www.brockreport.com/brockreport.