Jen Bennett

While no state is completely finished planting corn, some are getting close as the entire corn crop is 71% planted for 2012. This is well ahead of the five-year average of 47% by this date, and even further ahead of last year’s 32% pace.

Farmers are starting to see their early planting come to fruition, as 9% of the corn crop is now emerging from the soil. This is well ahead of the 2% five-year average. Texas and Tennessee are seeing the most green with 53% and 61% of their corn crops out of the ground, respectively. North Carolina has nearly half of their crop emerging, and a third of the corn crop is popping up in Kentucky.

All but two states have put some corn in the ground according to the April 9, 2012, USDA Crop Progress report. A 7% overall planting completion rate is 5 percentage points ahead of the five-year average and is up 4 points from last week alone.

The April 2, 2012 Crop Progress report has put overall corn planting progress at 3% complete. Texas has 48% of its crop in, followed by Tennessee at 15% planted and North Carolina with 10% of its corn in the ground.

The scene: A beautiful, sunny afternoon. Walking through a flourishing cornfield with strong roots, green leaves and bright silks. Suddenly, clouds roll in, the leaves start browning and shriveling, worms eat away silks, stalks crumble in front of you as rootworms demolish the roots, and charcoal rot erodes the stalks. Your feel-good movie has turned into the latest horror flick.

Today’s USDA Crop Progress report shows that 80% of the overall soybean crop has been harvested in the U.S. The corn crop is 65% harvested. Both crops area ahead of the five-year average pace, but well behind last year’s harvest pace.

According to the Oct. 3 Crop Progress Report from USDA, the U.S. corn crop is 79% mature, just one percentage point behind the five-year average. Maturity jumped 16 percentage points since last week. The 2010 crop was 92% mature by this time.