By TYNE MORGAN April 15, 2024 - AgWeb
USDA's third Crop Progress report of the year started reporting soybean planting progress, and it shows soybean planting is already underway in 10 states. Corn planting has already begun in 13 states, according to USDA, nearly double last week's total.
Nationally, USDA reports 3% of the country's soybean crop is in the ground, the same as this time last year, but two points ahead of the average pace. USDA shows soybean planting is ahead of average in all 10 states that have reported planting so far.
- Arkansas farmers are 26% complete, up 11 points from last year and 18 points ahead of average.
- Kentucky is 8% planted, two points ahead of 2023 and five points quicker than average.
- Missouri has 8% of its soybeans planted, four points quicker than last year and seven points faster than average.
Corn planting is 6% complete across the U.S., a point behind last year but also one point ahead of the five-year-average pace.
According to USDA, Missouri is seeing the most progress in the Midwest, with 26% of the crop in the ground as of Sunday, April 14. That's three points ahead of last year and 16 points ahead of the five-year average. While the pace is quicker than last year, it's not as quick as 2012 when 39% of the corn crop was planted as of April 15.
Other corn planting highlights include:
- Illinois is 3% planted, down seven points from 2023 and one point behind average.
- Iowa is 4% planted, one point behind last year and one point behind average.
- 3% of the corn crop is planted in Minnesota, which is three points ahead of last year and average.
The planting progress story is one of the East versus the West. The East is dealing with saturated soils and too much moisture while parched soils in the West are aiding planting progress. Some farmers in Arkansas and Missouri are even reporting being finished with corn planting already this year, which is a record.
It has been cold and wet in the Central Midwest, so the planting has been slow in IL, OH, IN., etc
Information provided by Naag Rao, PhD
Ag Research, Consulting, Marketing and Sales Support
