More Than Knee High by the 4th
Posted: July 9, 2009
The corn crop may be a little behind in progress, but it is looking mighty good out there.
According to USDA’s crop progress and condition report from Sunday, 71 percent of the corn remains in good to excellent condition nationwide, just a one percent drop from the previous week and almost 10 percent better than last year at this time.
Silking progress is behind normal for this time of year, at just eight percent compared to the 16 percent average, but it is ahead of last year and all indications are that it will catch up just fine, thank you very much. Reports from around the country are showing great progress. South Dakota’s corn crop grew an average of 9 inches last week, up to 25 inches, which is still behind normal but the weather is expected to continue being favorable for good growth. In Minnesota, the corn is averaging 42 inches, just an inch below normal.
All this points to possibly an even bigger corn crop than last year, according to some estimates. USDA will issue the latest official forecast Friday morning.