Compared to one year ago, U.S. corn and soybean crops are in far better shape, but still lagging the past 5 year average.

Yesterday, USDA reported 63% of the corn crop is in “good” or “excellent” condition, about the same as last week but easily exceeded last year’s 24%. With about 71% of the corn crop now silking, it remains behind the 5 year average of 75%.

Soybean crop conditions slipped only slightly vs. the previous week. USDA is reporting that 63% of soybeans are in “good” or  “excellent” condition compared to 64% last week. Approximately 65% of the soybean crop is blooming, behind the 74% pace averaged over the last 5 years and last year’s 87%. 

The ag agency also reported on the condition of spring wheat. According to USDA, for the 6 states that planted 99% of last year’s spring wheat acreage in the U.S., roughly 68% of the crop is in “good” or “excellent” condition. This compares with 63% at this time last year.