USDA releases latest Crop Progress report

Aug 09, 2016

Report says 97 per cent of corn is silking

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

The USDA’s August 7 Crop Progress Report shows corn, soybeans and wheat are progressing nicely.

When it comes to corn, 97 per cent of the crop is silking, up from the 2011-2015 average of 94 per cent. This figure is also up six per cent from July 31, 2016.

Approximately 74 per cent of the corn is in good-to-excellent condition.

Corn, soy, wheat

Illinois and Missouri both report complete corn silking, with North Carolina reporting 99 per cent. Many other states report percentages in the high 90s.

Approximately 91 per cent of soybeans are blooming as of the August 7 report. That number is up from the 2011-2015 average of 88 per cent. This figure is also up from 85 per cent from July 31, 2016.

About 72 per cent of the soybean crop is in good-to-excellent condition.

Arkansas and Louisiana report 98 per cent of soybeans are blooming, followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota with 97 per cent.

With respect to winter wheat, 94 per cent of the crop is harvested. This figure is up from 89 per cent on July 31 of this year.

Many states including Kansas, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois report a complete harvest.

About 30 per cent of spring wheat is harvested, up from only 10 per cent on July 31.

South Dakota reports 73 per cent of its spring wheat crop is harvested.

About 68 per cent of the spring wheat is classified as good-to-excellent.

Video: New colours and more durability for Case IH RB6 round balers

Farmers will see a new look and more efficiency and durability from Case IH's RB6 Series variable chamber round balers for model year 2026. In this report from the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, Case livestock product specialist Brian Williams notes that the first thing farmers will notice is a new colour scheme. "For the tailgate, the frame, and also the pickup, we've changed to our Case IH red colour. One of the really nice things about changing that colour scheme is that you're able to see that crop flowing into the baler much better from the tractor." There's also changes to the pickup with the addition of a second roller. "On the 566 model, you can get it with the double windrower roller," says Williams. "For our customers that are baling corn stalks or large windrows, it helps to push that windrow down to let that feed into the chamber, so that they're able to bale a little bit faster, because everyone's looking for better efficiency." There are also modifications to the rollers in the bale chamber — the stripper roll and the fixed roll have been combined into a one-piece roller. "There's no welds on those rollers, so the dependability is going to be far greater than our previous model," adds Williams.