According to the USDA, the current corn crop identified to be in good or excellent condition was down slightly from the previous week, finishing slightly below analyst expectations, however the current soybean crop identified to be in good or excellent condition increased slightly from the previous week, finishing above analyst expectations. Corn: Corn silking as of the week ending Aug 9^th was 97% completed, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of 87% completed and the five year average pace of 95% completed. Corn dough as of the week ending Aug 9^th was 59% completed, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of 34% completed and the five year average pace of 52% completed. Corn dent as of the week ending Aug 9^th was 11% completed, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of six percent completed but slightly below the five year average pace of 12% completed. 71% of the current corn crop was identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Aug 9^th, down one percent from the previous week but up one percent in the ‘excellent’ category. The current corn crop identified to be in good or excellent condition was slightly below analyst expectations of 72%. Eight percent of the current corn crop was identified as very poor or poor, up one percent from the previous week. Soybeans: Soybean blooming as of the week ending Aug 9^th was 92% completed, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of 79% completed and the five year average pace of 89% completed. Soybean pod setting as of the week ending Aug 9^th was 75% completed, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of 49% completed and the five year average pace of 68% completed. 74% of the current soybean crop was identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Aug 9^th, up one percent from the previous week. The current soybean crop identified to be in good or excellent condition finished above analyst expectations of 72%. Just five percent of the current soybean crop was identified as very poor or poor, down one percent from the previous week.