According to the USDA, the percent of corn identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Jul 18^th remained unchanged from the previous week, finishing slightly below analyst expectations. The percent of soybeans identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Jul 18^th increased slightly from the previous week, consistent with analyst expectations.

Corn:

Corn silking as of the week ending Jul 18^th was 56% complete, finishing slightly ahead of last year’s pace of 55% completed and the five year average pace of 52% completed.

An additional 30% of the total U.S. corn crop exhibited silking during the week ending Jul 18^th. Weekly increases in corn silking on a percentage basis were led by Minnesota, followed by Iowa, Michigan and Maryland.

Corn dough as of the week ending Jul 18^th was eight percent complete, finishing equal to last year’s pace and slightly ahead of the five year average pace of seven percent completed.

65% of the current corn crop was identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Jul 18^th, unchanged from the previous week but up one percent in the ‘excellent’ category. The current corn crop identified to be in good or excellent condition finished slightly below analyst expectations of 66%. Nine percent of the current corn crop was identified to be in very poor or poor condition, up one percent from the previous week.

Soybeans:

Soybean blooming as of the week ending Jul 18^th was 63% complete, finishing ahead of last year’s pace of 62% completed and the five year average pace of 57% completed.

An additional 17% of the total U.S. soybean crop bloomed during the week ending Jul 18^th. Weekly increases in soybean blooming on a percentage basis were led by Alabama, followed by Michigan and North Dakota.

Soybean pod setting as of the week ending Jul 18^th was 23% complete, finishing equal to last year’s pace and slightly ahead of the five year average pace of 21% completed.

60% of the current soybean crop was identified to be in good or excellent condition as of the week ending Jul 18^th, up one percent from the previous week. The current soybean crop identified to be in good or excellent condition finished equal to analyst expectations. 11% of the current soybean crop was identified to be in very poor or poor condition, unchanged from the previous week.