Total progress for the US corn and soybean harvest is well ahead of recent years.
In the latest USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report released Monday afternoon, the US corn harvest jumped to 60 percent completion as of October 18th ? up from 41 percent a week ago ? and the soybean harvest is also progressing nicely now at 75 percent completion. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the latest numbers for corn are well ahead of the 28 percent this time last year.
?We saw 19 percent of the US corn harvested just in the last week, 52 percent of the corn harvested in the last four weeks, and 60 percent harvested by October 18th,? Rippey said. ?That?s far ahead of the five-year average of 43 percent and more than twice of last year?s pace when just 28 percent of the corn had been harvested by October 18th.?
It?s a similar story for the soybean crop, says Rippey.
?The soybean harvest did not outpace corn this week,? he said. ?We saw 14 percent advance in the soybean harvest progress to reach 75 percent overall. Our last look at soybeans dropping leaves shows 97 percent of the crop dropping leaves on the 18th of October. That?s two points ahead of the five-year average and ahead of last year?s 91 percent. All of the major Midwestern states are above 90 percent, thus leaving the crop largely free from concern about frost and freezes as we move forward.?
For Iowa specifically, the corn harvest reached 65 percent, over three weeks ahead of last year and just over two weeks ahead of average. Only 10 percent of Iowa?s soybean crop remains to be harvested, which is over three weeks ahead of last year and over two weeks ahead of average.
