Farmers planted an eye-popping 30 percent of the corn crop, or more than 43,000 square miles of land, in the week ending on Sunday, according to USDA’s Crop Progress report. After lagging for weeks due to rain, planting surged to reach the average pace of nearly 60 percent for this time of year. It is a remarkable leap but not uncommon. Last year, planting zoomed to 71 percent complete on May 19 from 28 percent complete on May 12, a 43-point vault.
While planting is back on track at 59 percent complete, corn emergence is behind normal at 18 percent, compared to the usual 25 percent. Corn planting is running late in the upper Midwest and so is emergence.
The winter wheat crop declined in condition again. Some 42 percent of the crop is rated poor or very poor, 4 points worse than a week ago.