U.S. soybeans are in better shape than last year at this time

For the second week this growing season, USDA reported soybean ratings for top producing states. As of the week ending June 16, 70% of the country’s soybeans rated good/excellent. 

Overall, the country’s soybeans rated 12% excellent, 58% good, 25% fair, 4% poor, and 1% very poor. That’s a marked improvement from last year at this time. According to USDA, soybean conditions a year ago were 7% excellent, 47% good, 34% fair, 9% poor, and 3% very poor. Comparing the combined percentage of good/excellent soybeans, that’s 70% compared to 54% for this year versus last year, respectively. 

A week ago, the country’s overall soybean conditions saw a similar noticeable improvement compared to the previous year. While 72% of the country’s soybeans rated good/excellent as of the week ending June 9, just 59% did the year prior. 

Notable outliers compared to 70% average 

Considering the 70% good/excellent soybean conditions average across top soybean producing states, the greatest outliers comparatively were Illinois and North Carolina, which tied for the lowest percentage of soybeans rated good/excellent at 61%, and Louisiana, which beat the 70% average by 18%. 

Illinois 

USDA reported Monday that soybeans in Illinois rated 11% excellent, 50% good, 30% fair, 7% poor, and 2% very poor as of June 16. Compared to the week prior, that’s an overall decline in soybean conditions for the state. As of June 9, the state’s soybean crop rated 13% excellent, 56% good, 27% fair, 4% poor and 0% very poor. 

Lower than typical rainfall likely contributed to the overall decline in soybean conditions for Illinois over the last week. According to USDA, precipitation for the state averaged 0.25 inches in the week ending June 16, which was almost three-quarters of an inch (0.73 inches) below normal.

Still, soybean conditions for the state the week ending June 16 were much better than those reported last year at this time. As of June 16, 2023, the state’s soybeans rated 7% excellent, 26% good, 49% fair, 14% poor, and 4% very poor.

North Carolina 

As of the week ending June 16, soybeans in North Carolina rated 3% excellent, 58% good, 26% fair, 10% poor, and 3% very poor. Compared to last week, that is again an overall decline in soybean conditions. As of June 9, the state’s soybeans rated 5% excellent, 72% good, 18% fair, 4% poor, and 1% very poor. 

Below average precipitation and above average temperatures last week across North Carolina likely contributed to the decline in soybean conditions. For the week ending June 16, all locations in the state reported negative departures from normal precipitation and most saw above average temperatures.

Louisiana 

According to USDA, soybeans in Louisiana rated 5% excellent, 83% good, 9% fair, 3% poor, and 0% very poor as of the week ending June 16. In this case, that is actually an increase in the percentage of soybeans rated good/excellent since the week prior. As of the week ending June 9, the soybeans in Louisiana rated 3% excellent, 80% good, 17% fair, 0% poor, and 0% very poor.

This is the second week that Louisiana has led the country in terms of best soybeans. Only 5% of the state’s soybeans had not been planted as of June 16, and 91% of Louisiana’s soybeans had emerged by that date.