COMMON GROUND BLOG

Corn and soybean condition ratings are like watching paint dry: The 18 grain-growing states gave up one point in the top corn categories this week, while all other ratings are unchanged.

Corn harvest in the 18 states moved from 9 percent last week to 15 percent this week. That’s lagging average, at 19 percent. In Farm Credit Services of America’s territory, three states report that 4 percent to 7 percent of the corn crop has been harvested. Almost three quarters of the 18-state corn crop is mature – well above the 64 percent average.

Soybeans

Like corn, soybean maturity is slightly ahead of average, with 68 percent dropping leaves against an average of 64 percent. Also similar to corn, harvest pace is on the slow side, at 10 percent, three points behind average.  In FCSAmerica states, 4 percent to 11 percent has been harvested.

Weather issues are localized

Torrential rains have held up harvest in some parts of the Corn Belt, but overall the weather isn’t a hurdle at this time. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has revised its El Nino/La Nina expectation to a 55 percent to 60 percent chance of neutral conditions this fall and winter.  As a result, the CPC’s October-December outlook indicates increased probabilities of above normal average temperatures across most of the continental states, with the exception of those in the Southeast, where there is more uncertainty. Rainfall expectations are for drier than usual conditions in the Southeast. In the Corn Belt and upper Plains, forecasters offer equal chances of wetter, drier or normal conditions.

Once again, the market has many reasons to expect plentiful crops.