The Fastline Blog

Tuesday, July 27 2010:

While the total amount of corn and soybeans in the good/excellent category this week was unchanged from a week ago, a closer examination shows that we did see a fairly substantial movement from the “good” to the “excellent” category so in that respect we did see improvement. Iowa corn was a good example of this “movement”, as 27 percent of that state’s corn crop is now rated as excellent versus just 21 percent last week. Iowa also rated 25 percent of its soybean crop as excellent this week, versus 18 percent a week ago. With Iowa being the Nation’s leading corn and soybean producing state, such big changes there often mean changes on a national scale. Ratings for crops in some states remain amazingly high; 15 percent of the corn (or less) is rated as fair or worse in Nebraska, Minnesota and North Dakota; the same can be said for the soybean crops in Minnesota and North Dakota. The rating given to the national corn crop remains above the rating given to last year’s crop for this same time, and it is the highest rated crop for this time of year since the record-yielding 2004 crop. The national soybean rating is a bit higher than last year, and it too is the highest rated crop for this time of year since the 2004 crop that was record-yielding. Chance are good that we will see at least steady, if not somewhat higher, ratings for next Monday’s report. Rains on Monday night were of benefit to especially the soybean crop in the Delta. There will be rains around from time to time in the Midwest over the next week, but widespread flooding rains that were such a problem late last week in the region are not expected to be repeated. Temperatures in the Midwest will average warmer than normal, but intense heat on a lasting basis is still not foreseen.

Freese-Notis Weather/Weather Trades, Inc. Des Moines, Iowa Copyright 2010 – All Rights Reserved

For Previous Fastline Blog Posts- Click Here