USDA Crop Progress: Corn Harvest Hits 44%, Soybeans 64%, Cotton 41%

Soybean harvest has reached 64% completion, outpacing corn at 44% and cotton at 41%, according to the latest USDA Crop Progress report, the weekly benchmark that grain merchants, ethanol plants and processors use to price and schedule autumn receipts.

The soybean figure matters first for the crush trade. At 64% harvested, crushers gain clearer visibility on delivered bean volumes, which supports crush margins and informs basis levels at river terminals. The 20-percentage-point lead over corn is the structural story of the week: beans typically come off earlier, and this season the gap has held.

What does the corn number change?

Corn at 44% harvested places the crop roughly mid-season. For end users — feedlots, ethanol producers, export elevators — the report narrows the window of supply uncertainty. Each weekly increment in the USDA figure tends to firm cash marketing opportunities as farmers empty grain bins and make room, and merchants adjust bids accordingly.

The 44% mark also signals how much crop remains exposed to weather. More than half the national corn area is still standing, and every point of progress from here reduces lodging, test-weight and drying-cost risk from late-season storms.

Why does cotton lag at 41%?

Cotton at 41% harvested trails both row-crop counterparts, a normal sequencing given the longer picking window for fiber versus grain. Gins use the USDA percentage to schedule module intake and staffing. Merchants use it to project when classing volumes will pressure nearby quality premiums.

How do the three crops compare?

• Soybeans: 64% harvested — the clear leader
• Corn: 44% harvested — 20 points behind soybeans
• Cotton: 41% harvested — trailing corn by 3 points

Read together, the three figures sketch an autumn in which oilseed supply is arriving fastest. That sequencing shapes logistics: elevator space freed by early bean movement can absorb corn as it accelerates, while cotton ginning extends deepest into the calendar.

What should farmers watch next?

The next USDA Crop Progress release will show whether corn closes the gap with soybeans and whether cotton accelerates past the halfway mark. Producers still holding unpriced grain typically watch these weekly percentages against local basis; harvest pressure tends to be sharpest while completion figures climb through the 60-to-80% range. For cotton growers, gin turnout and classing results in the weeks ahead will determine quality discounts. The practical takeaway: with soybeans two-thirds off and corn and cotton still in the field, marketing and drying decisions over the coming fortnight carry more weight than usual.

By Olivia Hart, Arable Wire