USDA crop progress: Spring wheat quality crumbles (again)USDA crop progress: Spring wheat quality crumbles (again)

USDA’s latest set of crop progress data, released Monday afternoon and covering the week through July 18, showed corn quality has mostly stabilized from a week ago, while soybean quality is trending modestly higher. Spring wheat quality continues to struggle, dropping another five points lower this past week. Winter wheat harvest progress gained some much-needed forward momentum, meantime.

For corn, 65% of the crop is rated in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from a week ago. Analysts were expecting to see a one-point improvement this week. Another 26% of the crop is rated fair (down a point from last week), with the remaining 9% rated poor or very poor (up a point from last week).

Corn crop maturity is advancing a bit more quickly versus recent years, with 56% now at the silking stage. That’s a big jump from the prior week’s mark of 26%. It’s also ahead of 2020’s pace of 55% and the prior five-year average of 52%. Eight percent of the crop has reached the dough stage, up from 3% a week ago and slightly ahead of the prior five-year average of 7%.

Soybean quality ratings improved a point last week, with 60% of the crop now in good-to-excellent condition, mirroring analyst estimates. Another 29% of the crop is rated fair (down a point from last week), with the remaining 11% rated poor or very poor (unchanged from a week ago).

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Physiologically, 63% of this year’s crop is now blooming, up from 46% last week and moderately ahead of the prior five-year average of 57%. And 23% is now setting pods, jumping from last week’s mark of 10% and a bit ahead of the prior five-year average of 21%.

This year’s embattled spring wheat crop saw quality ratings erode another five points lower last week, with just 11% of the crop now rated in good-to-excellent condition through Sunday. Another 26% is rated fair (down three points from last week), with the remaining 63% rated poor or very poor (up eight points from a week ago). Nearly all (92%) of the crop is now headed, up from 83% a week ago and identical to the prior five-year average.

The 2020/21 winter wheat harvest is nearly three-fourths complete, reaching 73% this past week. Harvest made good forward momentum versus last week’s mark of 59% and puts this year’s pace right in line with the prior five-year average of 74%.

Click here to read the latest USDA crop progress report for additional information on cotton, rice, peanuts, sorghum, sunflowers and more.