News & Resources

USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report

12 Apr 2021

This article was originally posted at 3:03 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 12. It was last updated at 3:44 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 12.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- U.S. farmers had planted 4% of intended corn acreage as of Sunday, April 11, according to USDA NASS' weekly Crop Progress report released Monday.

That puts the current planting pace 1 percentage point ahead of 3% for both last year and the five-year average.

Illinois planting was running 4 percentage points ahead of normal with 5% of corn planted as of Sunday compared to the five-year average of 1%. Indiana and Iowa were also running slightly ahead of normal, with Indiana corn 2% planted compared to 1% last year and Iowa 1% planted compared to zero last year. Texas corn was 57% planted, 1 percentage point ahead of the five-year average of 56%.

Winter wheat heading was 5%, down slightly from the five-year average of 7%. Winter wheat condition held steady at 53% good to excellent but was down from 62% a year ago.

"Ohio, Washington and Illinois had the highest winter wheat ratings of 81%, 74% and 73%, respectively," said DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman. "Colorado and Texas had the lowest ratings of 26% and 28%, respectively. Fifty-five percent of the winter wheat crop in Kansas was rated good to excellent, up from 54% last week."

In a YouTube video released by K-State Research and Extension on Monday (https://youtu.be/…), K-State Research and Extension wheat specialist Romulo Lollato said that spring moisture has made the prospects of a good wheat crop in Kansas promising, due in part to approximately 4-6 inches of precipitation received across the since March 12.

"From now until heading is when the crop needs the largest amount of water," Lollato said in the video, adding that wheat in many Kansas fields is just beginning to elongate its stem. "Having this 4-6 inches of water recently received is definitely going to be used in a very efficient way by the winter wheat crop in Kansas."

Meanwhile, spring wheat planting was running ahead of normal, with 11% of the crop planted as of Sunday, ahead of 5% last year and ahead of the five-year average of 6%.

"Eight percent of North Dakota spring wheat and 30% of South Dakota spring wheat was planted, both ahead of their usual paces," Hultman said.

Sorghum was 14% planted, unchanged from last week and falling behind the five-year average of 17%. Cotton planting was 8% complete, compared to the average of 7%. Rice was 23% planted, compared to 20% last year and the average of 28%.

Oats were 39% planted as of April 11, compared to 31% last year and the average of 33%. Emergence was at 24%, compared to 24% last year and the average of 26%.

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To view weekly crop progress reports issued by National Ag Statistics Service offices in individual states, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/…. Look for the U.S. map in the "Find Data and Reports by" section and choose the state you wish to view in the drop-down menu. Then look for that state's "Crop Progress & Condition" report.

National Crop Progress Summary
This Last Last 5-Year
Week Week Year Avg.
Corn Planted 4 2 3 3
Cotton Planted 8 6 9 7
Winter Wheat Headed 5 4 6 7
Spring Wheat Planted 11 3 5 6
Sorghum Planted 14 14 18 17
Oats Planted 39 23 31 33
Oats Emerged 24 18 24 26
Barley Planted 13 5 11 11
Rice Planted 23 14 20 28
Rice Emerged 13 8 14 13

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National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
This Week Last Week Last Year
VP P F G E VP P F G E VP P F G E
Winter Wheat 6 11 30 46 7 5 11 31 47 6 3 7 28 53 9

Anthony Greder can be reached at anthony.greder@dtn.com

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