U.S. farmers have harvested 11% of this year's corn crop, trailing last year's pace of 13%, according to a Crop Progress Report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA's weekly Crop Progress report showed corn maturity reached 56% nationwide as of September 21, compared to 59% at the same time last year, matching the five-year average. Corn condition was rated 66% good to excellent, slightly below the previous week's 67%.
"Marketings of fed cattle during August totaled 1.57 million head, 14% below 2024," the report noted. "Marketings were the lowest for August since the series began in 1996."
Soybean development is showing 61% of the crop dropping leaves, just below the five-year average of 62% and nearly catching up to last year's pace after falling behind earlier in the growing season. Farmers have harvested 9% of soybeans, compared to 12% in 2024.
The condition of the soybean crop was rated 61% good to excellent, up slightly from last week's 60%.
Winter wheat planting for the 2026 crop has reached 20% completion nationwide, slightly behind last year's pace of 23% but keeping pace with the five-year average.
Cotton bolls are 60% open across the major producing states, with 12% of the crop harvested, matching last year's harvest pace. The cotton crop was rated 47% good to excellent, down from 52% last week.
Among other crops, rice harvest reached 71% completion, well ahead of the five-year average of 57%, while sorghum harvest has reached 25%, slightly behind last year's 28%.
Soil moisture remains a concern in several regions, with 17% of topsoil and 16% of subsoil moisture rated very short. However, about half of the nation's cropland has adequate moisture, according to the report.
Across the 48 states, pasture and range condition was rated 34% good to excellent, up slightly from the previous week but well below the 25% rated as very poor.
The USDA reported that farmers had 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending September 21.
