Crop Progress: Crop, Pasture Conditions Decline Following Record-Setting Heat Wave

Aug 30, 2023

For the week ending Aug. 27, 2023, there were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 24% very short, 30% short, 45% adequate and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 25% very short, 37% short, 37% adequate and 1% surplus.

Field Crops Report:

Corn condition rated 8% very poor, 16% poor, 21% fair, 41% good and 14% excellent. Corn dough was 94%, ahead of 87% last year and near 91% for the five-year average. Dented was 59%, near 56% last year and 57% average. Mature was 11%, near 7% last year and ahead of 5% average.

Soybean condition rated 9% very poor, 15% poor, 24% fair, 40% good and 12% excellent. Soybeans setting pods was 92%, behind 97% last year, and near 95% average. Dropping leaves was 8%, near 9% last year and equal to average.

Sorghum condition rated 3% very poor, 7% poor, 26% fair, 45% good and 19% excellent. Sorghum headed was 96%, ahead of 84% last year and near 95% average. Coloring was 44%, ahead of 31% last year but near 45% average. Mature was 1%, equal to both last year and average.

Oats harvested was 96%, near 100% last year and 99% average.

Dry edible bean condition rated 0% very poor, 1% poor, 25% fair, 69% good and 5% excellent. Dry edible beans blooming was 95%, near 99% last year. Setting pods was 86%, near 83% last year. Dropping leaves was 4%, equal to last year.

Pasture and Range Report:

Pasture and range conditions rated 7% very poor, 15% poor, 26% fair, 46% good and 6% excellent.

Source : unl.edu

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.