Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Harvest Pace Slows Amid Midwest Rains

U.S. corn and soybean harvest pace slowed last week as widespread rains across the Midwest kept many producers out of their fields.

Monday afternoon’s weekly Crop Progress report from USDA indicated the U.S. corn harvest was 74% complete as of Sunday, up a modest 8 percentage points from a week earlier and 1 point below the average of expectations in a Reuters News Service survey. Harvest progress fell behind last year’s pace of 81%, but still topped  the five-year average of 66%.

USDA said the U.S. soybean harvest was 79% done as of Sunday, a gain of just 6 percentage points from a week earlier and 2 points below the average of trade expectations in the Reuters survey. U.S. soybean harvest progress was also behind the year-earlier pace of 86% complete and the five-year average of 81%.

Looking at the top corn producing states, the Iowa harvest was 70% complete compared with a 5-year average of 61%, while the Illinois harvest was 81% complete versus an average pace of 80%. The Minnesota harvest was 83% complete versus an average of 61% and the Nebraska harvest was 72% complete versus an average of 63%. Indiana’s harvest was only 62% complete compared with the state’s average pace of 69%.

Looking at the top soybean producing states, the Iowa harvest was 88% complete versus a 5-year average of 85%, while the Illinois harvest was 75% complete versus an average of 86%. The Minnesota harvest was 98% complete versus an average of 91%, while the Nebraska harvest was 91% complete, on par with the average pace. The Indiana harvest was lagging notably at only 67% complete versus an average pace of 82%.

The Midwest is forecast to see a restricted precipitation pattern through much of the next two weeks, which should allow for more aggressive harvest activity.