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In the USDA report released August 31, 2026, corn’s good/excellent rating held at 57% for the week ending August 30, while soybeans slipped 2 percentage points to 58%. Both ratings were below their levels a year earlier. The title’s “fall” describes the combined direction: corn did not decline week over week.
How did corn and soybean conditions change?
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports the share of each crop rated very poor, poor, fair, good, or excellent. The national figures below compare the week ending August 30, 2026, with the prior week and the same period a year earlier.
| Crop | Very poor | Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent | Good/excellent | Previous week | Year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | 6% | 11% | 26% | 44% | 13% | 57% | 57% | 69% |
| Soybeans | 6% | 7% | 29% | 46% | 12% | 58% | 60% | 65% |
Source: USDA NASS, Crop Progress, released August 31, 2026. Good/excellent is the sum of the good and excellent categories.
Corn: unchanged week over week
Corn was 57% good/excellent, the same as the prior week. Its mix shifted from 43% good and 14% excellent in the prior week to 44% good and 13% excellent; together, those categories still total 57%. The current rating was 12 percentage points below the year-earlier 69%.
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Soybeans: down 2 percentage points
Soybeans were 58% good/excellent, compared with 60% the prior week and 65% a year earlier. The weekly change is a 2-percentage-point decline, not a 2% relative decline.
What does USDA’s condition rating measure?
NASS explains that “Crop condition questions ask reporters to estimate the percent of a particular crop that is in each of five condition categories ranging from very poor to excellent.” The NASS Crop Progress and Conditions Survey describes the estimates as weekly reports used by producers, agribusinesses, traders, and others to assess growing conditions and support decisions.
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The national good/excellent figure combines two survey categories. It is a reported assessment of crop condition, not a direct measurement of yield or a yield forecast. The report does not establish why soybean ratings declined or attribute the change to a specific weather event.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How broad is the report’s coverage?
NASS says all states participate in the survey, and weekly reports account for over 75% of acreage for major commodities. For the selected-state tables in this report, the 18 corn states represented 91% of 2025 corn planted acreage, while the 18 soybean states represented 96% of 2025 soybean planted acreage. Those are coverage figures based on 2025 acreage, not shares of 2026 production.
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The August 31 report covers the week ending Sunday, August 30, 2026. The USDA/NAL Crop Progress release index lists this report and the preceding August 24 release.
Quick Recap
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