Bad news about the US corn crop, according to the latest USDA report

By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer

The rain and flooding that has affected Corn Belt farmers continues to be reflected in the poor Crop Progress numbers, according to Monday's latest update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The percentage of corn considered "good" or "excellent" in 18 key corn-producing states dropped from the previous week from 59% to 56%. The five-year average for the condition of corn rated "good" or "excellent" is 77%.

"The percentage is going down -- and that's a bad direction," said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Jason Nicholls. "It's not that it dropped all that much, it's just the fact that it has dropped at all is surprising ... The heavy rains in southern Illinois and parts of Missouri that got 3 to 5 inches contributed to the deterioration."

Missouri had just 28% of its corn rated "good" or "excellent," while Ohio had 39%, Michigan had 40% and Illinois was at 47%.

Some good news for Corn Belt farmers: "This week, the weather will turn and get drier," Nicholls said.

Soybean planting, as AccuWeather predicted, rose in 18 key U.S. soybean-producing states, according to the Crop Progress. The report showed 85% of soybeans were planted as of June 23, after the percentage was at 77% the previous week. The five-year average for the date is 97%.

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Ohio (65%), Missouri (66%) and Michigan (69%) continue to show the worst percentages, while Louisiana (99%), Minnesota (98%) and North Dakota (98%) lead the way.

"Those three states still in the 60s, especially Missouri, are going to end up losing some soybean acres because of the wet weather," Nicholls said.

For the year, AccuWeather predicts 2019 U.S. corn and soybean production will be below 2017 and 2018 and even below the USDA 2019 estimates.

There were 14.61 and 14.41 billion bushels of corn produced in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018, respectively. AccuWeather initially predicted 13.60 billion bushels but revised that number to 13.26 on June 10. The initial USDA estimate for 2019 was 15.03 billion bushels, but that number was revised June 11 to 13.68.

For soybeans, there were 4.412 and 4.5444 billion bushels produced in the U.S. in 2017 and 2018, respectively. AccuWeather initially estimated U.S. soybean production at 4.001 billion bushels and revised the estimate to 3.952 billion bushels on June 10. The initial USDA estimate for 2019 was 4.15 billion bushels, which was unchanged when the USDA produced its June 11 estimate.