After a slow start, the US spring wheat harvest jumped to more than one-third complete this past week as each of the major production states made notable gains.
According to Monday’s USDA crop progress report, 36% of the national spring wheat crop was in the bin as of Sunday. That is up 20 points from a week earlier, ahead of 29% last year and now on par with the five-year average.
The Minnesota harvest roared to near the halfway mark (49%), up 34 points on the week and topping 28% last year and 42% on average. The Montana harvest advanced 23 points from the previous week to reach 44% complete as of Sunday, ahead of 36% last year and in line with the state average. In the largest production state of North Dakota, the harvest climbed 15 points to 24% done, 4 points ahead of last year and now just 1 point behind the average. At 70% complete, the South Dakota harvest gained 27 points from a week earlier, 2 points ahead of last year and 7 points behind the average.
The spring wheat crop was rated 50% good to excellent as of Sunday, up 1 point from a week earlier but well below 73% a year ago.
The national winter wheat harvest advanced 4 points from a week earlier to 94% complete as of Sunday, 2 points behind last year and 1 point behind average.
