Corn crop progress close to average

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. corn crop's progress has nearly matched the crop's five-year average after an entire season of lagging, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

After a slow, wet spring, the corn crop fell far behind the historic average in planting, emergence, silking and ripening. At this late stage, the crop is 97 percent mature, against an historic average of 100 percent mature for this week of the year, the USDA said Monday.

An harvest-stopping snowfall could place the year in the category of a classic photo finish. As of this week, harvest still lags far behind, at 37 percent done compared with a five-year average of 82 percent done by the second week of November.

The nation's sugarbeet crop is 93 percent harvested. The sunflower crop is 33 percent harvested, against an average of 75 percent for this week of the year.

The soybean harvest is 75 percent done, while the cotton harvest is 44 percent complete.

Eighty-six percent of the winter wheat crop is planted, close to the historic average, the USDA said.