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Missouri corn, soybean crop conditions improve despite late July trend

The USDA shows an improvement in corn and soybean conditions in Missouri at the end of July, and Arlan Suderman with StoneX Group says it’s unusual.

“We normally do trend lower in the ratings from July into roughly the middle part of August.”

Suderman tells Brownfield rains might have helped improve crops in the northern part of Missouri.

“It certainly wasn’t over the entire state’s crops. They also had to deal with the heat over the past week. But I do think that the high humidity helped to reduce the damage they saw.”

Suderman says USDA shows improvements in crop conditions for other states in the last week. North Carolina was the only other state that saw improvement in both corn and soybean conditions. Tennessee had improved corn condition ratings. Mississippi and Louisiana had improved soybean condition ratings.

He tells Brownfield he’ll be waiting for next week’s crop condition ratings for confirmation. At the end of the day, he says…

“You know, it is a beauty contest. It’s a subjective rating. In the eyes of the beholder, the crop smiled a little bit more this week than it did the previous week.”

The USDA says Missouri’s corn conditions are 68 percent good to excellent, with half the crop in dough stage. Soybean conditions are rated 62 percent good to excellent, with 37 percent of the crop setting pods.

Cotton conditions in Missouri are rated 84 percent good to excellent with 38 percent setting bolls. Rice conditions are 82 percent good to excellent, with 46 percent of the crop headed.