Slow spring still haunts crops

The historic average for setting pods is 85 percent for this week of the year. The USDA said 72 percent of this year's crop has begun to set pods.

The nation's crop report for the week ending Aug. 16 said 71 percent of the rice crop in the 6 largest rice producing states had headed out. Over the past five years, on average, 83 percent of the crop has headed out by this week of the year.

Forty percent of the nation's corn crop has reached the dough stage, behind the historic average of 64 percent. Nine percent of the crop has reached the dented stage, well behind the historic average of 26 percent.

The winter wheat harvest is 94 percent complete, the department said. The
spring wheat harvest is 13 percent done, against a five-year rolling average of 48 percent.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.