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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The USDA’s August 25, 2024, crop-condition update put 65% of corn in the top growing states in good or excellent condition, down 2 percentage points from 67% the week before. The report also showed corn progressing through key growth stages faster than the five-year average. These are historical figures, not a report on 2026 conditions.
What changed in the corn condition rating?
The USDA’s 22nd Crop Progress report of the 2024 growing season was released Monday, August 26, with figures describing conditions as of Sunday, August 25. As reported by Successful Farming, 65% of corn in the top growing states was rated good or excellent, compared with 67% on August 18. That is a decline of 2 percentage points—not a 2% relative decline.
| Condition category | August 18, 2024 | August 25, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Good or excellent | 67% | 65% |
| Fair | 22% | 22% |
| Poor or very poor | 11% | 13% |
The two-point drop in the top category corresponded with a two-point increase in the poor/very poor share; the fair share held steady. These are USDA figures as reported by Successful Farming.
How far had the crop developed?
Condition ratings describe how the crop was assessed; dough, dent, and maturity measure how much of the crop had reached particular development stages. Successful Farming’s account of the USDA report gave these comparisons:
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| Development stage | August 25, 2024 | Previous week | Five-year average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dough | 84% | 74% | 83% |
| Dent | 46% | 30% | 42% |
| Mature | 11% across 14 of the top 18 growing states | 5% | 6% |
The dough and dent figures covered the top 18 growing states. The maturity figure was reported across 14 of those 18 states. Each stage share was ahead of its stated five-year average as of August 25, while the condition rating itself had slipped from the prior week.
What the figures do—and do not—show
The report records a weekly change in condition ratings alongside crop-development progress. On their own, these figures do not establish why the rating fell or what the final yield would be. They should be read as a dated snapshot of the 2024 season, not as a current crop outlook or a market forecast.
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