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Corn, Soy Harvest Advance Slowly

The U.S. corn and soybean harvest pace remained slightly behind normal last week as cool, wet conditions continued to slow progress in the eastern Midwest.

Corn harvest advanced 15 percentage points to 68% done during the week ended Sunday, but remained 3 percentage points behind the five-year average pace, USDA said Oct. 30 in its weekly crop update.

Soybean harvest advanced 7 percentage points to 83% done, vs. a five-year average pace of 86%.

Corn and soybean harvest progress continued to lag further behind normal across the eastern states of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, as producers continued to struggle with unfavorable weather conditions.

Strong winds and heavy rains showers caused more lodging in Indiana cornfields last week, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service.

At 49% done as of Sunday, vs. a five-year average of 67%, Indiana’s corn harvest was nine days behind schedule, while Indiana soybean harvest progress of 71% was said to be 10 days behind the average of 87%.

Meanwhile the Ohio corn harvest was pegged at 34% done, vs. an average of 50% and Michigan’s corn harvest progress was put at 32% vs. an average of 51%.

Ohio soybean harvest progress was put at 68% vs. a five-year average of 84%, while Michigan soybean harvest progress was pegged at 57% vs. an average of 80%.

There are some slow areas for corn harvest in the western Corn Belt as well.

At 54% done as of Sunday, Nebraska’s corn harvest trailed the normal pace by 12 percentage points with high crop moisture levels reportedly continuing to slow harvest activity.

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.