@kannbwx

Three more #CropWatch20 #corn fields were harvested last week. North Dakota (Oct. 14; 2 & 5 months ahead of prior yrs) Minnesota (Oct. 15) Illinois (Oct. 16) ND was better than expected, MN worse, and IL as expected. Just two fields left.... the corn in Nebraska and Ohio 

@kannbwx

HUGE difference in the 2020 harvest for North Dakota versus the last two years. The 2018 Crop Watch #corn was harvested December 12, 2018. The 2019 field on March 12, 2020 (300 days after planting). The #CropWatch20 field on October 14 - the 4th of 8 subject fields completed.

The MN #corn was below expectations since the cold spring ended up curbing yield potential even more than was thought. ND yield was a bit better than predicted because the Sept 8-9 frost wasn't as damaging as expected. IL corn was 15% above avg, but the #soybeans were only avg.

U.S. #corn was 60% harvested on Sunday, ahead of the 43% average. That is the quickest harvest pace for the date since 2012, and just a point ahead of 2015. The Western Belt remains far ahead of normal, Illinois is average, and states east are a bit behind. #harvest20

U.S. #soybeans were 75% harvested as of Oct. 19, 1 and 2 pts behind 2015 and 2012, respectively. The 5yr avg is 58% (60% if using '14-'18). The mid-South, Delta, and southeastern states are behind, but everywhere else is ahead, many major states FAR FAR ahead. 

@kannbwx

Compared with the projected prices from February, harvest prices for #corn and #soybeans in the USA are having the best performance since 2012. Through Oct. 20, corn is up 1% over the Feb. avg and soybeans are up 14%.

A higher harvest price would raise the insurance guarantee to farmers using Revenue Protection, unless they elected for the harvest price exclusion (has a lower premium). Iowa State extension explains it well and runs through some examples here: 

https://extension.iastate.edu/agdm/crops/htm

Cotton condition was unchanged after improving a tad last week so hurricane Delta had no impact on the cotton crop.

5+ inch rains and winds gusting above 50 mph in LA were not severe enough to cause significant widespread damage.