USDA Crop Progress Report: Harvest Is Beginning.

Sep 21, 2015

From The USDA

The USDA released the weekly Crop Progress Report on Monday.

Highlights of the report.

This year’s U.S. corn and soybean harvests are underway.

As of Sunday, the USDA says 10% of U.S. corn is harvested, compared to the five year average of 15%. 94% has dented, a little ahead of normal, and 53% has matured, a little behind normal. 68% of U.S. corn is in good to excellent condition, unchanged on the week.

7% of soybeans have been harvested, equal to the usual pace, and 56% are dropping leaves, compared to 50% on average. 63% of U.S. soybeans are called good to excellent, up 2% from a week ago.

19% of the winter wheat crop is planted, compared to 20% on average.

46% of U.S. pastures and rangeland are in good to excellent shape, down 1% from last week.

The full report with state breakdowns is available on this link

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-09-21-2015.txt

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.