According to the USDA crop tour, as of July 23 in the U.S., winter wheat was harvested on 68% of the planned areas (+12% per week), which is still below the previous year’s result (76%) and the average for the last 5 years (77%).
It is noted that 49% of the unharvested crops are in good and excellent condition (-2% per week), while in the previous year, this figure was 68% (60% over the past 5 years).
As for other grains, the condition of corn crops remained unchanged over the past week, with 57% of the crops in good to excellent condition (61% a year ago, 66% over the past 5 years). The precipitation last weekend partially improved the condition of the crops, but it was less than expected. Therefore, the prospect of further deterioration of crops remains, especially against the background of the forecast of extremely hot weather next week in the US corn belt.
The share of soybean crops in good and excellent condition decreased from 55% to 54% over the week, which is lower than a year earlier (59%) and over the past 5 years (63%). At the same time, in early August, cooler and wetter weather conditions are expected to be established, which should contribute to the formation of pods in plants.
Source: Apkinform