This article was originally published at 3:05 p.m. CDT on Monday, Sept. 14. It was last updated with additional information at 3:26 p.m. CDT on Monday, Sept. 14.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- The U.S. soybean harvest kicked off ahead of both last year's and the five-year-average pace, while the nation's corn harvest also continued slightly ahead of normal, according to USDA NASS's weekly Crop Progress report released on Monday.

This week, farmers across the country will be dealing with dramatically different weather conditions, according to DTN weather forecasts.

CORN

-- Crop development: Corn dented was estimated at 86%, 3 percentage points ahead of last year's 83% and 2 points ahead of the five-year average of 84%. Corn mature was pegged at 42%, 3 percentage points ahead of last year's 39% and 4 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 38%.

-- Harvest progress: NASS estimated that 8% of corn has been harvested nationally, 1 percentage point ahead of last year's 7% and 2 points ahead of the five-year average of 6%.

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 57% of the crop was in good-to-excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from the previous week but 10 percentage points below last year's 67%. Seventeen percent of the crop was rated very poor to poor, equal to the previous week and 8 percentage points above the previous year's 9%. Iowa's crop was rated at 76% good to excellent, while North Carolina and North Dakota were poorly rated at 12% and 22%, respectively, according to DTN Senior Analyst Dana Mantini.

SOYBEANS

-- Crop development: Soybeans dropping leaves were pegged at 44%, 6 percentage points ahead of last year's 38% and 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average of 37%.

-- Harvest progress: In its first soybean harvest report of the season, NASS estimated that 6% of soybeans had been harvested as of Sunday, 1 point ahead of last year's 5% and 3 points ahead of the five-year average of 3%

-- Crop condition: NASS estimated that 58% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, unchanged from the previous week but 5 percentage points below the previous year's 63%. Iowa's crop was rated at 74% good to excellent and Tennessee's was 75%, while North Dakota's crop was rated just 24% good to excellent, Mantini noted.

SPRING WHEAT

-- Harvest progress: Spring wheat harvest reached 93% complete as of Sunday. That was equal to last year's pace but 1 point ahead of the five-year average of 92%. South Dakota's spring wheat harvest was estimated at 100% complete with Minnesota's harvest at 98% finished, Mantini noted.

WINTER WHEAT

-- Planting progress: Winter wheat planting was estimated at 8% complete nationally, 2 percentage points behind last year's 10% and 4 percentage points behind the five-year average of 12%.

THE WEEK AHEAD IN WEATHER

This week's weather pattern is anything but uniform, with starkly different conditions expected from the Northern Plains to the Gulf Coast, according to DTN Ag Meteorologist John Baranick.

"It's sort of a tale of two halves here this week," Baranick said. "Across the North, a big storm system is moving through the Northern Plains on Monday and has already laid down a widespread area of heavy rain there and into the upper Midwest. That system will leave a front draped from the Nebraska-Kansas border through Iowa and across the southern Great Lakes where daily showers and thunderstorms should develop. Areas of heavy rain are going to make harvest difficult and could cause some flooding near that front, leading to some damage potential. Temperatures will be very seasonal, with a lot of highs in the 60s and 70s and some potential for frosts in a few areas that see winds calm down a bit.

"But south of that front, it will continue to be much more like summer. Highs in the 90s and near 100 degrees and extremely humid are going to be common throughout the week. Outside of some spotty showers near the Gulf, it should be rather dry, as well. That will not bode well for soil moisture, as we should see some drought growth this week. The exception may be in the southwestern Plains where there could be some occasional showers and milder temperatures throughout the week. Any rainfall would be helpful there as more producers go out and plant winter wheat.

"Another system is forecast to develop along that front for this weekend, but models are having a tough time trying to figure out how that will all come together -- whether or not it will produce widespread rain, or push that front far enough into the Southeast by early next week to bring some relief to temperatures and some rain, as well. So, there is some uncertainty with the mid-range forecast."

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To view weekly crop progress reports issued by National Ag Statistics Service offices in individual states, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov/…. Look for the U.S. map in the "Find Data and Reports by" section and choose the state you wish to view in the drop-down menu. Then look for that state's "Crop Progress & Condition" report.

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Editor's Note: How is the 2026 harvest going for you? Send us your comments, and we'll include them in next week's Crop Progress report story. You can email comments to talk@dtn.com. Please include the location of where you farm.

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National Crop Progress Summary
	This	Last	Last	5-Year
	Week	Week	Year	Avg.
Corn dented	86	76	83	84
Corn mature	42	25	39	38
Corn harvested	8	5	7	6
Soybeans dropping leaves	44	26	38	37
Soybeans harvested	6	NA	5	3
Winter wheat planted	8	2	10	12
Spring wheat harvested	93	86	93	92
Cotton bolls opening	57	40	49	48
Cotton harvested	8	7	9	8
Sorghum headed	97	94	100	99
Sorghum coloring	78	68	80	80
Sorghum mature	49	41	43	41
Sorghum harvested	22	20	22	22
Barley harvested	94	90	94	93
Rice harvested	62	50	59	50

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National Crop Condition Summary
(VP=Very Poor; P=Poor; F=Fair; G=Good; E=Excellent)
	VP	P	F	G	E
Corn
This Week	6	11	26	44	13
Prev Week	6	11	27	42	14
Prev Year	3	6	24	50	17
DTN 5-Yr Avg	5	10	26	46	13
Soybeans
This Week	4	9	29	46	12
Prev Week	4	9	29	46	12
Prev Year	3	8	26	50	13
DTN 5-Yr Avg	4	10	28	47	11
Peanuts
This Week	1	9	29	55	6
Prev Week	1	8	29	55	7
Prev Year	1	7	28	54	10
DTN 5-Yr Avg	2	8	32	51	7
Cotton
This Week	12	22	30	30	6
Prev Week	11	21	34	29	5
Prev Year	4	10	34	42	10
DTN 5-Yr Avg	12	17	30	34	6

Anthony Greder can be reached at anthony.greder@dtn.com

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