The USDA made a significant announcement on Monday with the release of its final Crop Progress report. This report holds great importance as it provides insights into the winter wheat crop in Kansas, the nation's leading winter wheat state. Let's delve into the details and see what the agency has to share.

Unveiling the Insights of the USDA's Crop Progress Report

Planting Now Complete

During the week ending Nov. 24, winter wheat planting in Kansas witnessed a 1 percentage point increase and reached 100%. Despite having only 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork, farmers managed to complete the planting. This progress is 1 percentage point ahead of the same time last year and on par with the five-year average. The emergence of the crop also showed remarkable growth, increasing by 5 percentage points to reach 96%. It is ahead of last year's progress of 92% and the five-year average of 90%.The week ending Nov. 24 saw a significant improvement in the condition of the winter wheat crop. According to the USDA, Kansas winter wheat was rated 3% very poor, 9% poor, 33% fair, 46% good, and 9% excellent. Over the month of November, the overall winter wheat condition in the state has been steadily improving. At the beginning of November, only 40% of the crop was rated good/excellent, and almost a quarter was rated very poor/poor. But as of the latest USDA report, the combined percentage of good/excellent winter wheat has climbed to 55%, and the combined percentage of very poor/poor winter wheat has decreased to just 12%.The replenishment of soil moisture supplies in recent weeks, after the drought has lessened throughout Kansas, has played a crucial role in the improvement of winter wheat conditions. As of the week ending Nov. 24, topsoil moisture supplies were rated over 80% adequate/surplus, which is a marked improvement from the beginning of the month when over half the topsoil moisture was rated very short/short. Kansas subsoil moisture supplies have also seen a significant improvement this month. While 65% of the state's subsoil moisture was rated very short/short at the end of Nov. 3, about the same percentage - 66% - was rated adequate/surplus by the end of Nov. 24.