U.S. farmers begin soybean harvest

Producers have combined 4 percent of the crop, according to the USDA

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

American farmers are beginning to harvest their soybeans, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.

Farmers have harvested 4 percent of the total U.S. soybean crop, which is on par with the harvest completion levels recorded at this time last year.

On a state level, farmers in Louisiana have combined 63 percent of their soybeans. That number represents the highest completion of the 18 states documented. The state figure is also up 23 percent from last week.

A number of other states, including Illinois, Iowa and Ohio, have reported that only 1 percent of the soybean harvest is complete.

The USDA ranked 48 percent of the soybean crop as good. That number is down 1 percent from last week’s figures.

Corn

Corn growers across the U.S. are harvesting their crops, too.

Producers have harvested 7 percent of the country’s total corn crop, the USDA said. That number is up 2 percent from last week, but is below the harvest levels recorded last year (8 percent) and the five-year average (11 percent).

Growers in North Carolina lead the country in terms of corn harvest completion. Farmers have harvested 68 percent of the corn in the state, according to the USDA. That number is up from 56 percent last week but down from 80 percent last year at this time.

Farmers in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota have yet to harvest any corn.

The USDA ranked 48 percent of the U.S. corn crop as good.

Wheat

As corn and soybean producers are combining their crops, winter wheat growers are busy planting.

Farmers have seeded 13 percent of the total U.S. winter wheat crop, according to the USDA. That number is up from 5 percent last week.

Growers in Washington have planted 43 percent of their winter wheat. That number represents a 27 percent increase from last week and is the highest of the 18 states recorded, the USDA said.

Farmers in Illinois haven’t planted any winter wheat as of Sept. 17.

Fieldwork days

The states with the most suitable fieldwork days for the week ending Sept. 17, according to the USDA, were:

California, Arizona, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Delaware – 7

Maine – 6.9

Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Indiana – 6.8

The states with the fewest suitable fieldwork days were:

Tennessee – 3.8

Georgia – 3.9

Florida – 4.2

Weekly precipitation levels

The next Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin will be released on Tues., Sept. 26.