USDA releases first crop progress report of the season

Apr 12, 2016

Corn is up slightly but matches five-year average

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The United States Department of Agriculture released its first crop progress report of the 2016 growing season and there’s reason for optimism early on.

According to the report, four per cent of the corn crop has already been planted – up from one per cent at the same time last year; the numbers match the five-year average.

Eighteen states are mentioned in the report and they were responsible for about 93 per cent of the 2015 corn acreage across the United States.

Corn field

Of the states mentioned, Texas has the most of its corn crop planted at 46 per cent. Kansas has 17 per cent planted, Missouri 24 per cent and Tennessee 17 per cent of its corn already in the ground.

When it comes to spring wheat, 13 per cent of the crop has been planted, down from 14 per cent last April, but up from the 10 per cent average over the past five years.

The six states mentioned accounted for 99 per cent of U.S. spring wheat acreage in 2015.

Washington reports 42 per cent of its spring wheat crop planted, down considerably from 62 per cent last year, but still ahead of the five-year average of 39 per cent.

Idaho’s crop is 30 per cent planted, down from 57 per cent a year prior and has fallen below the five-year average of 36 per cent.

The next crop progress report, expected out within the next few weeks, will include statistics about the soybean crop.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.