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Corn, Soy Harvest Picks Up Steam

The U.S. corn and soybean harvest started to pick up steam last week as the western Midwest enjoyed favorable weather, but progress remained slightly behind normal.

In its weekly crop update, USDA pegged U.S. corn harvest progress at 20% as of Sunday, compared with 13% a week earlier, 25% a year earlier and the five-year average of 23%.

U.S. soybean harvest progress was reported at 19%, vs. 9% a week earlier, 33% a year earlier and the five-year average of 26%.

USDA said 88% of the U.S. corn crop was mature, the same as a year earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 82%. Some 87% of U.S. soybean plants were reported dropping leaves, compared with 91% a year earlier and the average of 84%.

Harvest delays remained most pronounced in the eastern Midwest.

In Indiana, only 6% of the soybean crop had been harvested as of Sunday, vs. a five-year average of 24% and only 10% of the state’s corn crop had been harvested, vs. an average of 19%.

In Illinois, producers concentrated on harvesting corn last week due to lagging soybean maturity and concerns about corn stalk strength.

Slow drying of corn and soybeans has slowed progress. Illinois corn harvest progress of 28% as of Sunday lagged the average of 32%. The Illinois soybean harvest was only 15% done, vs. an average of 31%.

Producers in the western part of the Midwest concentrated on harvesting soybeans last week, while leaving corn to dry down in the field.

The Iowa soybean harvest was 26% complete as of Sunday, compared with an average of 30%, while the state’s corn harvest was 8% done, vs. an average of 10%.

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.