Farmers across the Corn Belt made strong progress in the fields in the past week, returning to normal corn planting pace and shifting ahead of the five-year average planting pace for soybeans. Warm weather helped corn and soybean crops emerge and push to near-average emergence pace.

Corn

The overall corn crop is now 88% planted, right on pace with the five-year average. Only a handful of states have planted less than 75% of their corn crops, including: Michigan (53%), North Dakota (67%), Ohio (69%), Pennsylvania (63%) and Wisconsin (67%). North Dakota farmers, however, made the most progress, going from 17% of the corn crop planted last week to 67% planted this week.

Corn is emerging in all states this week. Warm weather helped boost emergence rates across the growing area. Iowa had just over one-quarter of its corn crop popping out of the soil last week, and is 67% emerged this week. Crops in Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin made strong emergence progress, too.

Soybeans

Soybean planting reached above-average pace for the first time in a long time this past week. Overall progress is now at 59%, 3 points ahead of the five-year average. The overall crop went from 33% planted last week to 59% planted as of May 25. Last year at this time, just over 40% of the crop had been planted. Farmers in Iowa went from 40% planted last week to 80% planted this week, 5 points ahead of their five-year average. Farmers in Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota made strong soybean planting progress, too.

Soybean emergence is just 2 points behind the five-year average at 25% emerged as of May 25. All states except for North Dakota are seeing soybean seedlings pop out of the ground. In Kansas, the crop went from 7% emerged last week to 25% emerged this week. Soybeans in Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota also made strong emergence progress in the last week.