USDA Crop Progress Report Released.

Jun 22, 2015

The USDA released the weekly Crop Progress Report.

Highlights

A rainy week across the Midwest slowed down soybean planting last week and lowered the condition ratings for beans and corn.

As of Sunday, 90% of U.S. soybeans are planted, only up 3% on the week and slower than average, with 84% of the crop emerged, also behind the normal pace. 65% of U.S. soybeans are rated good to excellent, 2% below a week ago.

71% of the U.S. corn crop is called good to excellent, 2% below last week.

That rainfall also slowed down the winter wheat harvest. 19% is harvested, with a number of states yet to really get started, compared to the five year average of 31%. 41% of the crop is in good to excellent condition, a 2% week to week decline.

23% of spring wheat has headed, compared to 15% on average, and 71% of the crop is in good to excellent shape, up 1%.

65% of U.S. pastures and rangelands are in good condition, 1% below a week ago, but 10% more than a year ago at this time.

For the full report visit

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-06-22-2015.pdf

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.