Corn condition remains steady as harvest begins

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this week that the nation’s field corn crop condition held steady at 68 percent good-or-excellent as harvest began in earnest this past week.

Five percent of the crop was harvested as of Sunday, ranging from 57 percent of the North Carolina crop to one percent of Nebraska’s and Indiana’s. This compares to four percent at this time last year, nationally, and an average of nine percent harvested over the past five years.

Other states with measurable harvest include Illinois (six percent), Kansas (11 percent), Kentucky (20 percent), Missouri (14 percent), Pennsylvania (six percent), Tennessee (17 percent) and Texas (53 percent). Several Corn Belt states have yet to report harvest amounts.

Last week, USDA lowered the crop forecast. Corn production is now forecast at 13.6 billion bushels, down four percent from last year’s record production. Based on conditions as of Sept. 1, yields are expected to average 167.5 bushels per acre, down 3.5 bushels from 2014. If realized, this will be the second highest yield and third largest production on record for the U.S.