By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, April 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday rated 30% of the nation’s winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week, while most analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a slight decline.
• The USDA’s good-to-excellent rating for winter wheat was the lowest for the 17th week of the calendar year since 2023, during a sustained drought.
• In Kansas, the largest U.S. winter wheat producer, the USDA rated 23% of the state’s crop as good to excellent as of Sunday, down from 24% the prior week.
• Approximately 70% of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in an area experiencing drought as of April 21, the government said last week, more than double the year-ago reading of 33%.
• Farmers continued to plant spring crops. For corn, the USDA said planting was 25% complete by Sunday, ahead of the average analyst estimate of 23% and the five-year average pace of 19%.
• For soybeans, planting was 23% complete, the USDA reported, ahead of the average trade estimate of 22% and the five-year average of 12%.
• Spring wheat planting was 19% complete, the USDA said, below a range of analyst expectations and behind the five-year average of 22%.
• Farmers in North Dakota, the largest spring wheat state, had only 3.7 days last week that were suitable for fieldwork and 2.3 days the previous week, the USDA’s report said.
All figures in percent:
Category Analyst Analyst USDA USDA
average range last this
week week
Corn planted (percent) 23 18-33 11 25
Soybeans planted (percent) 22 17-26 12 23
Spring wheat planted (percent) 24 20-31 12 19
Winter wheat conditions* 29 26-32 30 30
*Percent good/excellent
(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Editing by Diti Pujara and Bill Berkrot)
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