USDA soybean ratings hold steady in week; corn 5% harvested
Weekly condition ratings for the U.S. soybean crop held steady in the past week, bucking trade expectations for a decline, while corn ratings dipped as crops neared maturity and the harvest got rolling, government data showed on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a weekly crop progress report rated 65% of the soybean crop as good to excellent, unchanged from a week ago, while 13 analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected a 2-point decline to 63%.
The USDA rated 64% of the U.S. corn crop as good to excellent, down 1 percentage point from last week, matching the average analyst estimate.
The drop in corn ratings could jeopardize the USDA’s current forecast for a record-high U.S. corn yield. However, the latest ratings still represent the highest for this time of year for corn since 2018, and the highest for soybeans since 2020.
The United States is the world’s largest exporter of corn and the No. 2 soybean supplier after Brazil.
The U.S. corn harvest is under way while the soybean crop is still maturing. The USDA reported the U.S. corn harvest as 5% complete by Sunday, ahead of the average trade estimate of 4% and the five-year average of 3%.
For spring wheat, the USDA said the harvest was 85% complete by Sunday, ahead of the average trade estimate of 83% and the five-year average, also 83%.
Farmers continue to seed the U.S. winter wheat crop that will be harvested in 2025. The USDA reported planting progress as 6% complete, behind the average analyst estimate of 8% but matching the five-year average.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Matthew Lewis)