Crop conditions across corn, soybeans and wheat all fell during the week in the northern portion of the US Corn Belt as drought conditions intensified, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.
The crop rating for corn fell from the Dakota's through Michigan during the week, and south into Iowa for the first time this season. In Iowa, 78pc of the crop was rated in good-to-excellent condition as of 9 August, falling by two percentage points from the prior week, and eight points below the previous year.
In Wisconsin and North Dakota, the share of the crop in good-to-excellent condition fell by 10 points from the prior week. Both states have declined significantly since the middle of July, falling in Wisconsin from 83pc in good-to-excellent condition as of 12 July to 69pc as of 9 August. And the North Dakota corn crop fell from 71pc to 27pc in good-to-excellent condition during the same period.
The soybean crop rating in North Dakota fell by 13 points during the week to 31pc in good-to-excellent condition. The outlook for the soybean crop was reduced further south in the US as well, with both Iowa and Missouri falling from the previous week by one and two points, respectively.
The spring wheat crop outlook was reduced in Montana, as well as the Dakota's and Minnesota. While both North Dakota and South Dakota continued to pull below both last year's level — and the five-year-average ratings for the two states — the spring wheat outlook for both Montana and Minnesota remained positive, despite the drop.
North Dakota was reported at 44pc in good-to-excellent condition, 11 points below the five-year average for the state. South Dakota was rated at 41pc, two points below the five-year average.
Minnesota's spring wheat crop was reported at 88pc in good-to-excellent condition, 25 points above the five-year average, while Montana was 50pc in good-to-excellent condition, ahead of its five-year average by 22 points.
Nationally the corn crop remained at 61pc in good-to-excellent condition, as slight improvements across the central Corn Belt, offset the declining quality of the northern portion crop. Soybeans fell by one point from the prior week to 6pc and spring wheat fell by four points to reach 51pc in good-to-excellent conditions.
With the first week of August, both the corn and soybean crops have mostly moved past their pollination phases, with corn silking 94pc complete, and soybean blooming 93pc complete. Corn's grain filling phase was progressing slightly ahead of normal, with 61pc of the crop in the dough stage, six points ahead of the five-year average. Similarly, 74pc of the soybean crop was in the pod setting phase, five points ahead of the five-year average.
The spring wheat crop has also developed more quickly this year, with 24pc of the crop harvested as of 9 August, five points ahead of the five-year average pace.
