Soybean Harvest Speeds Up at Halfway Point

With harvest now halfway done, USDA’s October 22 Crop Progress report revealed the U.S. soybean harvest is 53 percent complete. The soybean harvest pace remains down from historical averages, representing a 16-percentage point decrease from the five-year average and a 14-percentage point decrease from last year. However, while the average pace is still slower, the current harvest is slightly up from analysts’ estimates of 52 percent of the soybean harvest complete by this point. Soybean producers have harvested 2.5 billion bushels throughout the U.S. Figure 1 illustrates the percent of soybean acres that have been harvested so far.

For the week ending Oct. 21, USDA reports that 49 percent of the corn harvest is complete. Corn harvest continues to outpace historical harvest pace by 12 percentage points from last year and 2 percentage points from the five-year average. In contrast to analysts’ estimates on the soybean harvest pace, the corn harvest is slightly behind their predictions of 51 percent complete. U.S. corn producers have harvested 7.2 billion bushels of corn. Figure 2 illustrates the percent of corn acres that have been harvested so far.

As the midway point in harvest arrives, the U.S. soybean crop in good-to-excellent condition has remained unchanged at 66 percent. The soybean crop in poor-to-very-poor condition also remained steady at 11 percent. Current crops in good-to-excellent condition are up 5 percentage points from last year. Analysts were predicting a decline in conditions for both the soybean and corn crops this week as reports of crop damage continue to roll in. However, drier conditions are forecasted in the coming week throughout most of the U.S.

USDA estimates the U.S. corn crop in good-to-excellent condition remains at 68 percent. Crop conditions remain improved over last year’s 66 percent good-to-excellent. The corn crop in poor-to-very-poor condition continues to hold at 12 percent.