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What the Latest USDA Crop Progress Report Says About Corn and Soybeans

The latest USDA report tracks October maturity and harvest, not planting. Corn maturity matched its five-year average, while corn and soybean harvest lagged.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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The latest USDA Crop Progress report, released October 5, 2026, does not report corn or soybean planting: by then, the season’s reporting had moved to maturity and harvest. Corn maturity was at the five-year average, while corn and soybean harvest were behind their respective averages. The planting figures in the report title describe an earlier point in the season, not the latest release.

What the October 5 USDA report says

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report covers the week ending October 4, 2026. Its comparisons are with the 2021–2025 five-year averages. The figures below are national estimates drawn from selected-state panels, not measures of final production.

Crop and stage October 4, 2026 2021–2025 average Difference Selected-state acreage coverage
Corn mature 83% 83% Even 91% of 2025 corn acreage
Corn harvested 23% 27% 4 percentage points behind 93% of 2025 corn acreage
Soybeans dropping leaves 85% 87% 2 percentage points behind 96% of 2025 soybean acreage
Soybeans harvested 25% 33% 8 percentage points behind 96% of 2025 soybean acreage

These are different crop stages: maturity and leaf drop describe development, while harvest describes acreage already gathered. The report’s relevant tables mark prior-year October 4 values unavailable, so they do not support a year-over-year comparison. Read the October 5 NASS Crop Progress report.

Was soybean planting ahead of average?

Yes, in the dated June 7 snapshot cited by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). That snapshot reported 92% of U.S. soybean acreage planted, compared with an 88% five-year average; 79% had emerged, versus a 71% average. These figures show soybean planting and emergence ahead of average at that point in the season. They are not October figures and do not establish that corn planting was ahead of average. USDA ERS, Oil Crops Outlook: June 2026.

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Why planting figures disappear from later reports

NASS Crop Progress reports track seasonal activities and stages, including planting, crop development, harvest, and condition. As crops advance, the report’s emphasis shifts from planting to later stages such as maturity and harvest. The October 5 issue therefore answers how far corn and soybeans had progressed toward maturity and harvest, rather than how much had been planted.

NASS says state reporters—largely extension agents and Farm Service Agency staff—estimate the share of acreage at or beyond a specified stage as of Sunday. All states participate, and nearly every county has at least one reporter. The agency says returned reports account for over 75% of acreage for major commodities; that is its general description of coverage, not a response rate for the October 5 issue. NASS publishes Crop Progress at 4 p.m. on the first business day of each week from April 1 through November 30. NASS Crop Progress publication index · NASS survey methodology.

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How to read “ahead of average”

“Ahead” means that a larger share of acreage had reached a specific stage by the stated week than in the comparison period. It does not, by itself, identify the cause or predict yield. Keep the crop, stage, as-of date, and benchmark together: soybean planting on June 7 is not comparable to October soybean harvest, and a five-year average is not the same as a prior-year reading.

The October 5 report index lists October 13, 2026, as the next scheduled release. The publication series is weekly during April–November, so figures should be understood as a dated snapshot rather than a season-long result.

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