National Corn Harvest Struggles Just Past Half Done- Soybeans Hit Three Fourths Mark at the Start of November

The first Crop Progress Report for November shows a disappointing corn harvest number- while the national soybean harvest stat is slightly behind what the pre report trade expectation was.

 

In the case of corn, harvest through November 3rd is only 52% complete- versus an expected number for this week's report by the trade of 58%. That 52% number continues to be well under the 74% of a year ago and the 75% five year average. The "I" states are all roughly 30 pecentage points behind normal- Iowa at 43%, Indiana at 57% and Illinois at 58%. The harvest situation in North Dakota appears to be in the most dire condition- only 10% of their corn crop is now harvested versus a five year average of 60% by this date.

 

The soybean harvest number this week is at 75%- versus 77% expected by the trade. In 2018 by this date- the soybean harvest was 81% complete, while the five year average stands at 87%. Both Illinois and Iowa have a five year soybean harvest number for this week of 91%- Illinois is 14 percentage points under that at 77% and Iowa is 11 percentage points behind at 80%. Missouri is struggling with their soybean harvest at just 54% harvested- 19 percentage points behind their five year average of 73% harvested.

 

Nationally- the US Cotton Crop is actually ahead of a year ago and the five year average- now at 53% harvested versus 48% a year ago and the five year number- 51%.

 

The southern plains wheat crop is almost all in the ground- with Oklahoma now 93% planted and Kansas checking in at 94% planted- both of thoese numbers are 12 percentage points ahead of planting in each state- and both numbers are exactly three percentage points ahead of the five year average. Texas still has some planting to do- now at 78% planted- one point behind the five year average but six points farther along than in 2018. Emergence in the three southern plains states now stands at 83% for Oklahoma, 72% for Kansas and 57% in Texas.

 

 

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?