Crop Conditions
Corn
Corn rated good / excellent (G/EX) as of September 08 was down 1% at 64% and poor / very poor was unchanged at 12%. Current G/EX is up 1% versus the 10 year average and Poor / Very Poor is down 1% versus the 10 year average. Of the 18 reported states 7 reported better, 5 worse, and 6 unchanged G/EX ratings. The good / excellent ratings for the top producing states were: Iowa 77%(0%), Illinois 75%(+4%), Nebraska 67%(0%), Minnesota 58%(-5%), Indiana 68%(0%).

Soybeans
Soybeans rated good / excellent (G/EX) as of September 08 was unchanged at 65% and poor / very poor was unchanged at 10%. Current G/EX is up 3% versus the 10 year average and Poor / Very Poor is down 2% versus the 10 year average. Of the 18 reported states 9 reported better, 7 worse, and 2 unchanged G/EX ratings. The good / excellent ratings for the top producing states were: Illinois 70%(+2%), Iowa 78%(+1%), Minnesota 62%(-4%), Indiana 68%(0%), Ohio 47%(+1%).

Cotton
Cotton rated good / excellent (G/EX) as of September 08 was down 4% at 40% and poor / very poor was up 4% at 28%. Current G/EX is down 6% versus the 10 year average and Poor / Very Poor is up 6% versus the 10 year average. Of the 15 reported states 7 reported better, 7 worse, and 1 unchanged G/EX ratings. The good / excellent ratings for the top producing states were: Texas 29%(-7%), Georgia 52%(-4%), Arkansas 77%(+4%), Mississippi 52%(+1%), North Carolina 55%(-10%).

Crop Progress
Cotton
Cotton harvested as of September 08 8%. This is up 1% versus last year.

Spring Wheat
Spring Wheat harvested as of September 08 was up 15% at 85%. This is up 2% versus last year and up 2% versus the 10 year average. The top producing states report North Dakota 79%(+18%), Minnesota 89%(+14%), Montana 91%(+14%), South Dakota 97%(+4%), Idaho 88%(+11%).

Winter Wheat
Winter Wheat planted as of September 08 was up 4% at 6%. This is up 1% versus last year. The top producing states report Kansas 4%(+3%), Washington 34%(+12%), Montana 2%(+1%), Illinois 0%(0%), Idaho 6%(+2%).

Corn
Corn harvested as of September 08 5%. This is up 1% versus last year.

This full text file contains reports, issued weekly during the growing season (April to November), which lists planting, fruiting, and harvesting progress and overall condition of selected crops in major producing states. The data, summarized by crop and by state, are republished along with any revisions in the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin. During the months of December through March, the report is issued monthly titled State Stories.

These reports offer weekly analysis of the progress and condition of the crops. State-by-state data is provided, which is aggregated into a number that covers the key producing states that make up the majority of the US crop.

Crop Progress is measured by stages and percentage of completion. This includes percent planted, percent harvested, and several stages in between. Some of the stages vary from crop to crop. For example, intermediate stages for corn include emergence, silk, dough, dent, and maturity, while the stages for soybeans include emergence, bloom, setting pods, and dropping leaves. The reports compare the current week with the same period in the previous year and with the 5-year average.

Inclement weather in the spring can delay planting, which could ultimately lower the production for that year. For corn, producers may be forced to pick faster-growing but lower-yielding seed varieties if planting gets delayed. In some cases, they may switch to soybeans, which have a shorter growing season. If it is excessively hot and dry during the corn silking stage, yields could drop, and a delayed start to the season could push silking later in the summer and increase the odds of that happening. A key stage to watch for soybeans in pod-filling, as excessively dry weather during that stage could result in smaller beans and lower yield. If the crops are late, there is an increased chance of frost before the plants have matured, which can also reduce yield.

Crop Conditions are measured by five categories: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor and Very Poor. As a rule of thumb, analysts tend to focus on the percentage that is in the good and excellent categories (“Good/Excellent”) and to a lesser extent to “Poor/Very Poor.” The reports include data on the current week, the previous week, and a year prior.

Analysts look at the weekly conditions data during the growing season to get an idea on how the crop is performing relative to previous years. If the crop conditions are poor, analysts may want to reduce their production estimates, and vice-versa if the crop conditions are strong. Analysts may also look at individual states’ conditions in light of the weather those areas are experiencing.