USDA's weekly Crop Progress report puts the US corn harvest at 18% complete and the soybean harvest at 17% complete as of September 27, according to the latest figures released by the department and reported by DTN Progressive Farmer.

The numbers mark the first clear snapshot of the 2025 harvest season's momentum across the major row-crop states. Both crops have moved past the opening stages of gathering, with corn combining and soybean cutting running in parallel across the Corn Belt rather than in the traditional staggered sequence.

For corn, the 18% harvested figure gives traders, ethanol plants and livestock feeders an early read on how quickly new-crop supply will reach the market. Elevators and end users typically watch the weekly Crop Progress series closely through October, when the bulk of the corn crop comes off. A fast early pace can compress the harvest window, pressure basis levels at country elevators and accelerate drying and storage decisions on farm.

The soybean figure of 17% harvested signals that bean growers, like corn producers, have taken advantage of available fieldwork days to get combines moving. Early-season soybean harvest progress matters for crush margins and export loadings, because the first new-crop beans reaching Gulf and Pacific Northwest terminals set the tone for export program momentum in the fourth quarter.

USDA compiles the Crop Progress report from state-level surveys of agricultural statisticians and producer reports, releasing updated percentages every Monday afternoon during the growing and harvest seasons. The September 27 data point sits within the reporting cycle that market analysts use to estimate how much of each crop will be in the bin before the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates revisions land.

The practical significance for farmers is straightforward. An 18% corn harvest by late September points to a season running at or ahead of the normal rhythm for the Corn Belt, where harvest typically gathers pace through the first half of October before peaking. Growers still weighing whether to harvest corn wet and pay drying costs, or let it field-dry, will find the window for that decision shortening as progress accumulates.

For soybeans, the 17% figure suggests growers are not waiting for full-field maturity before starting. Early bean harvest often trades yield and moisture considerations against the risk of later-season weather losses, and the progress data indicates many have chosen to start early this year.

The two percentages together — 18% corn and 17% soybeans — show a harvest running nearly in lockstep across the two crops. That alignment matters for machinery logistics on farms that grow both, since it compresses the period when a single combine and grain-handling setup must serve two crops at once.

Grain merchandisers will use the figures to gauge the timing of harvest pressure on cash prices. A rapid pace tends to fill commercial storage quickly, which can widen basis discounts at peak delivery weeks. Farmers planning to store rather than sell at harvest will be watching the same numbers to judge how much competition for space and drying capacity they face at local elevators.

The next Crop Progress report, covering the week ending in early October, will show whether the pace has held, accelerated or stalled. Farmers and market watchers should track the state-level breakdowns in the coming reports, particularly from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska, where the largest shares of both crops are grown and where week-over-week jumps will determine whether the early pace translates into an unusually early finish.