USDA winter wheat ratings hit 4-year low; corn 57% planted, soy 49% done

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, May 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday rated 28% of the nation’s winter wheat crop in good to excellent conditions, down 3 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest for this time of year since 2022.

• Good to excellent grades for winter wheat thwarted trade expectations of a one-point improvement. Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected the USDA to rate 32% of the crop as “good to excellent,” with estimates ranging from 30% to 34% good to excellent.

• In Kansas, the largest U.S. winter wheat producer, the USDA rated 17%⁠of the state’s crop as good to excellent on Sunday, up from 22% the week before. Weekly wheat ratings also declined in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

• Drought has gripped much of the Plains, “the principal winter wheat region of the United States.” About 70% of the U.S. winter wheat crop is in a drought-affected area, the government said last week, up from 22% a year ago.

• Farmers continued to plant their spring crops. For corn, the USDA said planting “was 57% complete as of Sunday, ahead of the average analyst estimate of 55% and the five-year average pace of 52%.”

• Soybean planting was 49% complete, the USDA reported, ahead of the average commercial estimate of 48% and the five-year average of 36%.

• Spring wheat planting was 53% complete, the USDA said, above the average analyst estimate of ‌50% and the five-year average of 51%.

All percentage figures:

Category Analyst Analyst USDA USDA

medium range for the last time

week week

Corn planted (percentage) 55 48-60 38 57

Planted soybeans (percentage) 48 44-52 33 49

Spring wheat sown (percentage) 50 45-58 32 53

Winter wheat conditions* 32 30-34 31 28

*Percentage good/excellent

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; editing by Paul Simao)