The Upper Midwest planting season is nearly wrapped up, with focus shifting from getting the crop into the ground to how well fledgling crops are faring.
The new weekly crop progress report, released Monday, June 11, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Statistics Service, or NASS, no longer included planting progress for most crops, including wheat and corn. Planting of those crops is virtually finished, so NASS didn't report planting rates.
There are two notable exceptions: soybeans and sunflowers, both of which are planted relatively late. But even these crops are nearing the finish line on planting: more than 95 percent of soybeans are planted in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, with 87 percent of North Dakota sunflowers and 64 percent of South Dakota sunflowers in the ground.
The new NASS report dealt primarily with emergence rates and crop condition. Here are state totals for spring wheat, corn and soybeans, the region's three major crops. Note that South Dakota has more of its emerged crops rated fair, and less rated good or excellent, than North Dakota, Minnesota and Montana.
Spring wheat
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Montana - Eighty-seven percent emerged, with 76 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent condition.
North Dakota - Nine-five percent emerged, with 71 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent condition.
South Dakota - Ninety-nine percent emerged, with 43 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent shape. Another 48 percent was in fair shape.
Minnesota - Ninety-eight percent emerged, with 78 percent of the emerged crop in good or fair shape.
Corn
South Dakota - Ninety-five percent emerged, with 63 percent of the emerged crop rated good or excellent and 35 percent in fair shape.
Minnesota - Ninety-seven percent emerged, with 90 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent condition.
North Dakota - Eighty-nine percent emerged, with 73 percent of the emerged crop rated good or excellent.
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Soybeans
Minnesota - Eighty-seven percent emerged, with 86 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent condition..
North Dakota - Seventy-five percent emerged, with 79 percent of the emerged crop rated good or excellent.
South Dakota - Seventy-nine percent emerged, with 60 percent of the emerged crop in good or excellent condition and 37 percent in fair shape.
To see the new report, go to https://release.nass.usda.gov/reports/prog2418.txt .
