As of October 29, USDA’s Crop Progress report showed the corn crop was 54% harvested, 16 points higher than last week, but 18 percentage points less than the 5-year average pace of 72%.
All of the top four corn producing States—Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota—are behind the average pace for this time of the year. Iowa’s corn crop is only 44 % harvested compared to the average of 70%, and corn in Illinois is 73% harvested compared to the average of 84%. The Nebraska corn harvest is 45% complete compared to its average pace of 67%. Corn in Minnesota has the lowest harvest pace of the top four States with 38% compared to a 73% average.
Corn shippers using the Upper Mississippi River have a narrowing time frame for barging grain as the navigation season nears its winter closure (typically late November through late February). In preparation of the closing of the Upper Mississippi River, barges in the St. Paul, MN, area will begin their final departure for southern destinations starting mid-November.
