Leisurely Start To November For Harvest, Wheat Planting

Farmers across Missouri eased their way into November, as corn and soybean harvest progress slowed to year-ago levels according to the weekly USDA Crop Progress report.  Harvest is 89 percent complete for corn and 84 percent complete for soybeans, both in line with a year ago.  Corn harvest is still three points faster than the five-year average, while soybeans remain 15 points ahead of average.  Cotton harvest in the Bootheel is now at 84 percent, five points behind a year ago but 11 points better than average pace.

Winter wheat planting has fallen behind last year’s pace, with 78 percent in the ground.  While that’s still eight points better than average pace, Missouri is now three points behind a year ago.  55 percent of the crop has emerged, just ahead of last year and seven points better than normal.  64 percent of the crop is rated good to excellent, two points better than last week and six points stronger than a year ago.  Three percent of the crop is rated poor, compared to 11 percent last year in poor or very poor condition.

Just 38 percent of Missouri’s farmers are believed to have adequate hay supply, while 57 percent report having enough stock water on hand.  53 percent of topsoil and 44 percent of subsoil had adequate moisture.  Just under a half-inch of rain fell on average across the state last week, 0.68″ below average.  Temperatures were also well below normal, averaging 43 degrees.  An average of 5.7 days were suitable for fieldwork last week.