News Crop News 9 Top corn-growing states report silking Half of the top corn-growing states reported silking in the latest USDA Crop Progress report published June 24. By Natalina Sents Bausch Natalina Sents Bausch Natalina Sents Bausch is the Digital Director for Successful Farming and Agriculture.com. She manages the daily newsroom-style digital content creation and distribution strategy for Agriculture.com. She has covered stories ranging from infrastructure and young farmers to new machinery introductions and USDA programs. Natalina joined the Successful Farming team in 2017 to cover new farm machinery and news coverage for Agriculture.com. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 24, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article Texas North Carolina Tennessee Missouri Kansas Kentucky Other states Close Corn silking has started in 10 states, the USDA reported Monday, June 24. Four percent of the national corn crop have started silking. Texas The Texas corn crop leads the nation, with 67% of the crop silking the week ended June 23. That’s 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average,and 5 points higher than the week prior. Last year at this time, 66% of Texas corn were silking. The USDA rated 53% of the state’s corn crop in good/excellent condition, and 32% fair. Fifteen percent of the crop were rated poor/very poor. North Carolina Corn silking surged 20 percentage points over the last week to 43% of the North Carolina corn crop. That’s 11 points ahead of the five-year average, and 17 points higher than last year at this time. The USDA rated 30% of the North Carolina corn crop in good/excellent condition; 21% of the state’s corn were fair; and 49% rated poor/very poor. Tennessee For the second consecutive year, Tennessee rounds out the top three states with the most advanced corn crop. The USDA says 34% of the corn in the Volunteer State are silking, up from 14% the week prior. The five-year average is 17%. Last year at this time, just 14% of the Tennessee corn crop were silking. The USDA rated 69% of the state’s corn crop in good/excellent condition; 21% fair; and 10% poor/very poor. Corn crop condition declines for third straight week Missouri Missouri farmers also have silking corn. The USDA reported 13% silking the week ending June 23, well ahead of the five-year average of 2%. Last year at this time, 2% of the Missouri corn crop were silking. The USDA rated 77% of the Missouri corn crop in good/excellent condition, and rated 17% fair. Six percent were rated poor/very poor. Kansas At 11%, corn silking is 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average pace in Kansas. Last year at this time, 4% of the Kansas corn crop were silking. The USDA rated 62% of the Kansas corn crop in good/excellent condition, and 32% fair. Six percent were rated poor/very poor. Kentucky The week ending June 23, Kentucky farmers reported corn silking for the first time this growing season. The USDA says 9% of the state’s corn are silking, up from 6% last year at this time. The five-year average is also 6%. The USDA rated 65% of the Kentucky corn crop in good/excellent condition, and 21% fair. Nine percent were rated poor/very poor. Other states Farmers in Illinois, Indiana, and Nebraska also reported single-digit silking progress to the USDA. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit