Yesterday, USDA reported that for the fifth week in a row, and the sixth of last seven weeks, the condition of the U.S. corn crop deteriorated further.

In its weekly report, USDA said only 40% of the corn crop is in “good” or “excellent” condition, an 8% dropoff from the previous week and way behind last year’s 69%. The condition of soybeans for this date also slipped with only 40% in “good” or “excellent” condition vs. 45% last week and 66% on this date last year.

In a note to investors, Henry Kirn, machinery analyst for UBS Investment Research, said, “On crop condition concerns, nearest corn futures rose 12% last week, while soybeans and wheat rose 9% and 7%, respectively. Corn, soybean and wheat prices are now 14%, 23% and 27% above year-ago levels, respectively.”