Declines in the quality of US winter wheat were limited during the week ended 26 April, though the nationwide crop remains in much worse shape than in past years.
The US winter wheat crop rated at 30pc good to excellent in the latest week, according to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, unchanged from the week prior. Though the overall crop did not worsen from last week, it did fall further behind prior year's levels, sinking to 19 percentage points worse than 2025 and 10 points behind the five-year average.
Market concerns over dryness and cold temperatures worsening conditions in the Southern Plains were not reflected in last week's data, with the good-to-excellent rate in Kansas and Texas sliding by just 1 and 2 points, respectively. Winter wheat in Oklahoma, meanwhile, climbed by 4 points to 14 points good-to-excellent.
Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana were not as lucky, with the good-to-excellent rate falling by as much as 6 points in those states.
Even with some muted week-over-week declines, hard red winter wheat quality in key-growing states remains considerably worse than in previous years. The country's largest producers are, on average, 17 points worse than their five-year average good-to-excellent rates.
The rate of poor to very poor wheat also rose to 35pc from 33pc nationally, driven higher by a 20-point increase in Nebraska and an 8-point increase in Montana.
Wheat in Texas and Oklahoma could also get more reprieve from ongoing drought conditions with multiple days of rain in the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts for the coming week. Some of that precipitation may also range into Colorado and Kansas.
Spring wheat planting, meanwhile, has been slow, with farmers seemingly prioritizing corn and soybeans. The US reached 19pc planted during the latest week, 11 points behind last year and 3 points behind the five-year average.
Corn and soy planting blitz
US corn and soybean planting continues to pace ahead of historical levels with farmers taking advantage of a largely dry week, according to NOAA rain-tracking data.
Corn reached 25pc planted nationwide during the latest week, a 14-point increase from the week prior. Corn-belt farmers were particularly active, with planting increase of between 16 and 20 points in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
Despite the active week, Missouri remains 2 points behind its five-year average for planting progress. Indiana, on the other hand, is 20 points ahead of its five-year average.
Soybean farmers made similar progress, reaching 23pc completion on national planting, up from 12pc the week prior. Soybean planting is now 5 points ahead of 2025 levels and 11 points ahead of the five-year average.
On the state level, the pace of Indiana planting was 27 points ahead of its five-year average at 35pc planted. Iowa, though, remained 2 points behind its five-year average, as was Michigan.
