Agricultural News
Summer Crop Condition Scores Tumble In Latest USDA Crop Progress Report
Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:24:55 CDT
The Crop Condition Slide continues. Corn, Cotton, Soybeans and Grain Sorghum have all slipped in the latest Crop Condition scores compared to one week ago, and corn and soybeans are in much worst shape than the 2011 crop was as we began the month of July 2011. Grain Sorghum has close to the same ratings of a year ago, while the 2012 cotton crop remains in much better shape than the 2011 crop that could blame the majority of its awful ratings on the historic drought of 2011 across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. (our corn crop picture comes from Garvin County, Oklahoma last year- corn that was still green but very stressed)
Starting with the crop that agricultural observers seem to be most concerned with- the 2012 US Corn crop- the latest corn crop conditions as of July 1st show an eight percent point drop in the good to excellent conditions- from 56% a week ago to under fifty percent this week at 48% good to excellent. The 2011 corn crop stood at 69% good to excellent as of July first of 2011. Meanwhile, the poor to very poor ratings expanded from 14% poor to very poor a week ago to 22% this week.
One fourth of the US corn crop is now silking, well ahead of the five year average of just 8%- and with the current hot dry conditions grippping the midwest, means the 2012 crop is trying to mature in the midst of the worst possible weather scenario. When the Monday, July 2nd futures trade ended at 2 PM central time- corn futures were up twenty to twenty three cents per bushel on the day- and these latest numbers give fresh fodder for the trade to continue to march higher.
Soybean crop conditions continue to worsen- and very quickly. For both corn and soybeans, this is the fourth straight week of crop condition scores on the decline. For soybeans, the good to excellent ratings also slipped by eight percentage points- from 53% a week ago to 45% this week. One year ago, soybean crop ratings for the 2011 crop stood at 66% good to excellent. The poor to very poor rating score moved higher- standing at 15% a week ago to 25% this week. Soybeans are also in the middle of a critical stage- for the soybean crop- it's blooming and 26% of the US soybeans are now blooming versus just 12 % one week ago. The soybean crop ratings are also likely bullish for soybean futures in the trade leading up to the Fourth of July Holiday.
Grain sorghum is also losing ground in the good to excellent crop rating scores- dropping from 44% good to excellent last week to 34% as of July first. Most of that loss has fallen through to the poor to very poor conditions- rising from 15% as of June 24 to 24% as of July first.
The cotton crop is also feeling the heat- and lack of moisture across the southern US- but the good to excellent ratings fell a lesser amount in this latest weekly period- going from 50% good to excellent on June 24 to 47% good to excellent in the July first USDA report. However, that is far better than the drought damaged 2011 crop, which was on life support by July first of 2011 at just 28% good to excellent.
The national pasture and range conditions also reflect the slide- with the good to excellent ratings falling from 34% last week to just 25% this week. The poor to very poor end of the spectrum also made a sizible jump- from 34% poor to very poor last week to 43% poor to very poor as of July first. Four states qualify as being awful when it comes to current pasture and range conditions- New Mexico at 89% poor to very poor, Arkansas at 83%, Missouri at 76% and Wyoming at 71%.
Click here for the entire set of numbers from USDA as released on Monday aftermoon, July 1, 2012.
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