USDA Provides a Statewide Crop Report

Nov 05, 2024

By Evan Walton

According to the latest USDA report, South Dakota’s crop harvest is progressing at a solid pace. That’s despite drought-like conditions that persisted for some farmers.

The USDA Farm Service Agency generates agricultural reports on field crops, pastures and range land. Their publication pulls data from the county level, SDSU Extension Service, and other reports across the state.

The agency takes stats from the current and previous years and include a five-year average.

The reports show that corn, soybeans, sorghum are outperforming their average pace.

Erik Gerlach is a state statistician. He said overall, the latest report shows progress.

“Corn harvested at 78 percent, which was well ahead of the 57 percent last year and ahead of the five-year average of 59 percent. I think that’s pretty obvious that we have had very little precipitation here over most of the harvest season, so, obviously our producers would be well ahead of getting the corn out. Same with beans, which is at nearly complete at 96 percent, which is right around last year’s 93 and ahead of the 87 percent average,” said Gerlach.

Gerlach said many farmers are also making progress planting winter wheat.

“It's pretty cut-and-dry for crop progress and condition this time of year. Harvest is wrapping up, people do look for the ratings on winter wheat, that would probably garner some attention because that crop is just coming out of the ground and needs to be ready to go for over-wintering. Just need some rain in the state, would probably be the story of crop progress and condition right now,” said Gerlach.

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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.