About 3 percent of the national crop is dropping leaves, the USDA reported
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Soybean plants around the U.S. are starting to drop their leaves.
About 3 percent of the national soybean crop has dropped its leaves, the USDA’s Aug. 22 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says.
This figure is down one point from last year.
Farmers reported planting 87.6 million acres of soybeans in 2021, meaning leaves have dropped across nearly 2.63 million acres.
Soybeans in Louisiana and Mississippi have dropped the most leaves.
About 19 percent of soybeans in both states have dropped leaves, the USDA reports.
Farmers in Louisiana reported planting 1.1 million acres of soybeans and Mississippi farmers reported planting about 2.25 million soybean acres.
Soybeans in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin haven’t dropped any leaves yet, the USDA’s report says.
Some U.S. corn has matured.
About 4 percent of the national corn crop is mature, the USDA’s Aug. 22 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin says. This figure is down one point from last year.
American farmers planted 92.7 million acres of corn in 2021, meaning about 3.71 million acres of corn is mature.
On a state level, corn in Texas is the most mature.
About 57 percent of the state’s 2.1 million acres of corn is mature, the USDA’s report says. That figure is down two points from last year.
Around 55 percent of North Carolina’s corn is mature, as is approximately 21 percent of Kentucky’s corn crop.
Corn in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania hasn’t matured yet, the USDA reported.
Spring wheat harvest continues across the U.S.
Farmers have harvested 77 percent of the 2021 spring wheat crop. That number is up from 58 percent last week.
Farmers reported planting 11.6 million acres of spring wheat in 2021, meaning growers have combined about 8.93 million acres of the crop.
On a state level, farmers in Minnesota are the furthest along compared to five other documented states.
Producers in the state have harvested about 98 percent of the state’s 1.2 million acres.
Farmers in Montana have harvested 69 percent of the state’s 2.6 million spring wheat acres. That number is the lowest among the six recorded states.