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Corn and soybean planting continued ahead of schedule last week. Corn planting across 18 key states was 38% complete as of Sunday, according to USDA’s weekly crop progress data, just a percentage point behind the average estimate of 39% and up from 25% a week ago. The pace matches last year’s and is ahead of the five-year average of 34%.
- Pay attention: It’s time to monitor the pace of corn planting more closely, says Pro Farmer crop consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier: “Next Friday is May 15 and corn planted after that date has the potential for lower yields depending on the weather during the growing season. If corn planting is delayed until late May, the yield potential could decline for each day that planting is delayed. For now, planting is slightly ahead of average, but emergence is slowing down due to the cool temperatures.”
Soybean planting was 33% complete, just off the average estimate of 35%, up from 23% last week and well ahead of the five-year average, also 23%. Progress stood at 28% the same time last year.
The data showed 13% of both the corn and soybean crop had emerged. The five-year average for corn is 9%; the average for soybeans is 5%.
The percentage of the winter-wheat crop rated “good” or “excellent” ticked up to 31% from 30% a week earlier. Analysts had expected it to remain unchanged. The Pro Farmer Crop Condition Index (0 to 500-point scale, with 500 being perfect) saw the HRW crop decline 0.56 point to 263.90. Declines in Kansas and Oklahoma were partially offset by slight gains elsewhere in the Plains. The SRW crop notched a mild increase of 3.92 points to 363.59 following spotty precipitation and cooling temperatures offering some relief across the Midwest last week. Even with the uptick, SRW conditions remain below year-ago levels for this time.
Meatpacker probe: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday said the Justice Department would use all available law-enforcement tools to address rising food prices as it continues a probe of the meatpacking industry. Blanche, in a news conference, urged whistleblowers to come forward and claim potential financial awards for information, Reuters reported. “Multiple plant closures across the country, the current market structure, and high concentration in the industry indicate anti-competitive activity,” Blanche said without naming the companies involved.
Pre-summit pressure: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday urged China to ramp up diplomatic pressure on Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz while also stressing that the U.S. has “absolute control” over the strategic waterway.
- “Let’s see [China] step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait,” Bessent said in a Fox News interview.
The remarks come ahead of a mid-month summit meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which soybean bulls are hoping will see Beijing affirm a commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans this calendar year and in 2027 and 2028.
Brazil soybean crop grows: Cordonnier on Monday boosted his estimate of the Brazilian soybean crop to 180 million metric tons from his previous estimate of 179 million MT, while holding a neutral bias. Brazil’s 2025/26 soybean crop will surpass the 2024/25 production of 172.5 million tons by consistent productivity gains and gradual expansion of the planted area, he wrote. Depending on the outcome, the nationwide average soybean yield in Brazil could surpass 55 bu/ac compared to 53 bu/ac in the United States in 2025.
Indian wheat exports: Indian traders have exported wheat for the first time in four years, as ample stocks, higher global prices and firmer freight rates have opened a window for them to make small shipments to buyers in Asia and the Middle East, Reuters reported, citing trade sources. The report said consumer goods conglomerate ITC has started loading 22,000 metric tons of wheat at the western port of Kandla for shipment to the United Arab Emirates.
India, the world’s largest wheat producer after China, has allowed exports of the grain this year. It had previously imposed a ban on overseas sales in 2022 and extended the curbs in 2023 and 2024 after extreme heat slammed crops and depleted stocks, pushing domestic prices to record highs, the report noted.
Mexico’s new ag minister: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum picked agronomist Columba Jasmin Lopez to be the country’s next minister of agriculture and rural development, replacing current minister Julio Berdegue, her government said on Friday. “Her appointment represents the arrival of the first woman to lead Mexican agricultural policy,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement, according to Reuters.
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