U.S. farmers nearing completion of winter wheat harvest

Jul 19, 2017

Farmers in three states have finished their winter wheat harvest

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

American farmers have harvested 75 percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop, according to the USDA’s latest Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.

That number is up from the five-year average of 73 percent.

On a state level, the USDA reports producers in Arkansas, Illinois and Texas have completed their winter wheat harvest.

And farmers in Idaho have completed 6 percent of their winter wheat harvest, according to the USDA. That’s the lowest percentage of the 18 states documented.

Soybeans

52 percent of American soybeans are blooming, according to the USDA’s report. That number is up from the 51 percent five-year average.

Louisiana leads the 18 documented states with 91 percent of its soybeans blooming.

North Carolina has the lowest recorded percentage, with 34 percent of its soybeans blooming.

And the USDA recorded that 16 percent of the total soybean crop is setting pods, up slightly from the 13 percent five-year average.

Louisiana leads the nation with 81 percent of its soybean crops setting pods. That number represents a large jump from the 65 percent five-year average.

And only 5 percent of the soybean crops in Wisconsin and South Dakota are setting pods.

The USDA rated 51 percent of the total soybean crop as “good.”

Corn

40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is silking, the USDA reports. That number is down from the five-year average of 47 percent.

On a state level, North Carolina leads the country with 93 percent of its corn crop silking.

In contrast, only 5 percent of the corn crop in Wisconsin is silking. That’s the lowest silking percentage of the 18 states surveyed.

The USDA also ranked 51 percent of the total corn crop as “good.”

Suitable Fieldwork Days

The states with the highest number of suitable fieldwork days for the week ending July 16 were:

Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona and Wyoming – 7
Idaho and Utah – 6.9
Montana, New Mexico and Virginia – 6.7

The states with the fewest number of suitable fieldwork days were:

Ohio – 1.9
New York – 3
Indiana – 3.5
Louisiana – 3.9

Precipitation for the week ending July 16

State	Precipitation (inches)	Weather Station
Illinois	2.41	Peoria
Indiana	3.59	Indianapolis
Iowa	3.27	Burlington
Kentucky	0.76	Paducah
Michigan	1.88	Lansing
Missouri	0.79	Columbia
New York	2.87	Buffalo
Ohio	5.04	Columbus
Pennsylvania	2.07	Pittsburgh
Tennessee	1.70	Chattanooga

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.