While corn and soybeans are reaching maturity slightly ahead of normal this year, the harvest of both crops so far is progressing at a close-to-average pace, USDA NASS' said in its weekly national Crop Progress report Monday. In its first national soybean harvest report of the season, NASS estimated that 6% of the crop was harvested as of Sunday, Sept. 19, near 5% last year and equal to the five-year average.

 

For the rest of the crop, NASS estimated that 58% of soybeans were dropping leaves as of Sunday, 10 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 48%. The condition of the soybean crop remaining in fields was pegged at 58% good to excellent, up 1 percentage point from 57% the previous week but down from 63% a year ago.

 

After trailing 1 percentage point behind normal the previous week, corn harvest edged 1 percentage point ahead of average last week, coming in at 10% as of Sunday compared to the five-year average of 9%. Corn harvest activity has picked up in the major producing states, with Illinois at 11% harvested and Iowa at 4%.

 

As with soybeans, corn continued to reach maturity ahead of normal last week. NASS estimated that 93% of corn was dented as of Sept. 19, up 4% points from the five-year average of 89%. Fifty-seven percent of corn was rated mature, up 10 percentage points from the five-year average of 47%.

 

The condition of corn still in fields also rose last week, edging up 1 percentage point from 58% good to excellent as of Sunday, Sept. 12, to 59% good to excellent on Sunday, Sept. 19. That was down from 61% a year ago.

 

Winter wheat planting also continued slightly ahead of normal last week, with NASS estimating 21% of the crop had been planted as of Sunday, 3 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 18%. Winter wheat emerged was pegged at 3%, just 1 percentage point ahead of the five-year average of 2%.