Soybean Harvest Ahead of Normal in All 18 Top Growing States

In its most recent Crop Progress report, USDA said that 81% of soybean harvest was complete across the nation’s top 18 soybean growing states. That’s a jump of 14 percentage points since the week prior. It’s also the same measure ahead of the five-year average. Last year at this time, 72% of the crop had been harvested.

With just 19% of the crop left to run, growers across top states have about 15.5 million acres of soybeans remaining to harvest this season. That’s derived from June acreage data from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Although all 18 top growing states are ahead of five-year harvest trends, how far progress is ahead ranges widely, from as little as 1 percentage point to as much as 32 percentage points. For two-thirds of the states, progress is ahead by at least 13 percentage points compared to respective five-year averages.

Wisconsin’s harvest is the furthest ahead of normal. Harvest progress reached 93% by Oct. 20, easily outpacing the five-year average of 61%. On the other hand, Louisiana’s harvest is the closest to average. At 94% soybeans harvested, the state is outpacing its five-year average by just one percentage point.

Farmers in top soybean growing states saw an average of 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Oct. 20. Of the 18 states, five were able to take advantage of a full week suitable for fieldwork: Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina. Ohio had the fewest days suitable for fieldwork at 6 days.