U.S. winter wheat harvest begins

Growers in five states have combined some wheat

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

American farmers are in the early stages of the winter wheat harvest.

Producers have combined 5 percent of the crop, the USDA’s June 3 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin report says.

Growers in Texas are the furthest along, having completed 35 percent of their harvest.

The USDA ranked 29 percent of the winter wheat crop as good.

Spring wheat planting is almost complete in the U.S.

Farmers have seeded 97 percent of their spring wheat, the USDA’s report says. That figure is up from 91 percent last week.

Producers in Washington are the only ones who have finished their spring wheat planting.

And 81 percent of the spring wheat crop has emerged. That number represents an 18 percent increase from last week.

South Dakota’s spring wheat crop is 96 percent emerged, which represents the highest of the six recorded states.

The USDA ranked 61 percent of the spring wheat crop as good.

Corn

U.S. producers are almost finished seeding the 2018 corn crop.

Farmers in 15 of the 18 documented states have planted more than 90 percent of their corn. Producers in Missouri and Illinois are the only ones who have finished seeding.

Growers in Pennsylvania have planted 75 percent of their corn crop, which is the lowest among the 18 states.

Overall, U.S. farmers have planted 97 percent of the 2018 crop. That number is up from 92 percent last week.

And more than 80 percent of the U.S. corn crop has emerged.

About 86 percent of the total national corn crop has emerged, the USDA reports. That figure is up from 72 percent last week.

Corn in North Carolina is 97 percent emerged, which is the highest in the country. Corn in Pennsylvania is only 50 percent, which represents the lowest figure in the U.S.

The USDA ranked 61 percent of the national corn crop as good.

Soybeans

Growers have planted 87 percent of the national soybean crop. That number represents a 10 percent increase from last week.

Louisiana soybean farmers lead the country, having completed 97 percent of their seeding, the USDA’s report says.

Farmers in North Carolina have planted 54 percent of their soybean crop. That figure is the lowest of the 18 recorded states but does indicate a 4 percent increase from last week.

About 68 percent of U.S. soybeans have emerged, the USDA’s report says. That number is up 21 percent from last week.

Louisiana’s soybeans are 94 percent emerged and Michigan’s crop is 45 percent emerged. Those figures represent the highest and lowest numbers in the country.

The USDA ranked 61 percent of the national soybean crop as good.

Suitable fieldwork days

The states with the most suitable fieldwork days for the week ending June 3 were:

Nevada, Arizona and Massachusetts – 7

New Hampshire and Oregon – 6.9

California and Louisiana – 6.8

During that week, the states with the fewest suitable workdays were:

Delaware – 1.5

Maryland – 2

Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama – 2.6

Weekly precipitation levels

The next Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin will be released on Tues., June 12.