USDA Crop Progress: Harvest Moves Forward.

Oct 25, 2016

USDA Released the Weekly Crop Progress Report.

This year’s U.S. corn and soybean harvests continue to move close to the respective average paces. Development rates during the growing season and harvest paces have varied widely from state to state and even within the states, but a number of states made good progress over the past week and the USDA is projecting record corn and soybean production this year.

The USDA says that as of Sunday, 61% of U.S. corn is harvested, compared to the five year average of 62%, and soybeans are 76% harvested, matching the typical timeline. Both harvests are far enough along that the USDA has discontinued the national condition ratings for the season.

U.S. winter wheat planting is a little slower than normal at 79%, while emergence is ahead of average at 60%. In the first rating of this season, 59% of U.S. winter wheat is in good to excellent condition, 12% more than in the first rating last season.

45% of U.S. pastures and rangelands are in good to excellent shape, down 1% on the week.

For the state by state breakdown visit the USDA Report at the following link

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-10-24-2016.txt

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.