(Wall Street Journal) – U.S. corn was 55% planted in the week ended Sunday, well above the previous week and the five-year average, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday, helped by favorable weather in recent weeks. U.S. soybeans, meanwhile, were 13% planted, an increase of 11 percentage points over the previous week and also more than the five-year average of 9% planted.
Relatively dry weather over the last week helped farmers speed their planting, which, at 19% progress the previous week, was behind the normal pace. That, combined with forecasts for rain in some parts of the Midwest this coming week, has bolstered the prospects of the corn crop.
The last two years’ harvests were the biggest ever, which has helped push down corn prices sharply. Still corn remains an attractive crop for farmers partly because of its relatively high yields. Wide swaths of big corn-growing states were seeded by May 3.
About 69% of the crop was planted in Illinois while 68% of the crop in Iowa was planted. Similar weather conditions were benefiting soybean planting, analysts said.
About 13% of the crop had been planted as of Sunday, compared to 2% the previous week and a five-year average of 9%. Some big soy states, such as Illinois and Ohio, had 4% and 12% of the crop planted, respectively, the USDA said.
