The USDA Crop Progress report for the week ended July 13 pegged the percentage of the corn crop in the 18 major states in good-to-excellent condition at 76% compared with 75% the previous week.
The USDA said 34% of the corn crop was in the silking stage as of July 13 compared with the five-year average of 33% for the date. Silking is required for pollination, which is key to determining grain yields.
The condition of the soybean crop was rated 72% good to excellent, unchanged from the previous week, the USDA said. Forty-one per cent of the soybean crop in the 18 major states was blooming as of July 13, compared with the five-year average of 37%.
The harvest of hard red winter wheat and soft red winter wheat in the 18 major states reached a combined total of 69% as of July 13 compared with the five-year average of 68%.
The hard red winter wheat harvest was close to completion in top-producing Kansas (90% compared with a 96% average), Oklahoma (97% compared with a 98% average) and Texas (99% compared with a 97% average.
Several soft red winter wheat states were nearing the finish to their harvests, including Illinois, 90% complete (compared with a 91% average), Missouri, 95% (98%), North Carolina, 97% (96%) and Arkansas, 99% (100%).
The USDA said spring wheat heading in the six major states reached 69% as of July 13 compared with a five-year average of 68%. Seventy per cent of the crop was rated good to excellent in the latest week, unchanged from the previous week.
The oats harvest in the nine major states was 29% complete as of July 13 compared with a five-year average of 16%. Ninety per cent of the crop was headed compared with the 92% average for the date. The USDA said 64% of the crop was rated good to excellent as of July 13, unchanged from the previous week.
