USDA Crop Progress Report. Huge Week of Planting.

May 04, 2015

USDA Released the weekly Crop Progress Report

Here is a link to the full report.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-05-04-2015.pdf

Report Highlights.

The USDA reports farmers accomplished a lot by last week with U.S. corn planting increasing thanks to favorable weather around most of the region.

As of Sunday, 55% of corn crop is planted, compared to 19% last week. A year ago, 28% was planted and the five year average for this week is 38% planted. 9% of corn has emerged, compared to 6% last year and 12% on average.

Farmers were also able to get 13% of soybeans planted, compared to 5% a year ago and 9% on average.

43% of the winter wheat crop has headed, compared to 34% on average, and 43% of the crop is rated good to excellent, up 1% on the week. Spring wheat planting is at 75%, well ahead of the five year average of 40%, and 30% of the crop has emerged, compared to 16% on average.

53% of U.S. pastures and rangelands are in good to excellent condition, 14% more than this time last year.

Video: Sclerotinia and Lygus in Seed Canola: Field Update with George Lubberts, CCA | Enchant, Alberta

Join Certified Crop Advisor George Lubberts for this Prairie Certified Crop Advisor (Prairie CCA) field update from Enchant, Alberta. In this 12th video of the series, George takes us into a seed canola field where the male rows have been removed and the female plants are filling pods. This video was taken in the third week of August 2025.

George discusses the early signs of sclerotinia stem rot, explaining how infection begins in the stem, impacts pod development, and leads to premature ripening. He also shares insights on lygus bug management, including timing of spray applications to minimize feeding damage and maintain seed size and quality.

With cool, damp summer conditions, George notes that while disease pressure is present, overall field health remains good. The crop is just beginning to show early seed colour change, signaling progress toward maturity.

Topics Covered:

•Sclerotinia stem rot identification and impact

•Managing lygus bugs in seed canola

•Crop stage and seed colour change observations

•Timing insecticide sprays for optimal protection

•Insights from a CCA field perspective in southern Alberta