Crop Progress

Crop
Progress
Washington, D.C.

Released November 24, 2008, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S.
Department of Agriculture. For information on Crop Progress call Dawn Keen at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. ET.

Note: These data are preliminary and will be released after 4:00 p.m. each Monday, except for holidays. See
tomorrow’s Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin for final progress and condition estimates.

State

Corn: Percent Harvested,
Selected States 1
Week Ending
Nov 23,
Nov 16,
Nov 23,
2008
2008
2007
Percent

CO
IL
IN
IA
KS
KY
MI
MN
MO
NE
NC
ND
OH
PA
SD
TN
TX
WI

94
95
97
86
93
100
89
92
88
82
100
53
94
87
75
100
99
83

Percent

90
88
93
70
87
99
83
80
80
67
100
33
88
81
59
100
97
69

Percent

20032007
Avg.
Percent

99
100
99
98
100
100
95
100
99
99
100
99
99
87
98
100
100
97

99
78
89
18 Sts
1
These 18 States harvested 93% of last year's corn
acreage.

We 1 (11-08)

State

95
99
96
98
99
100
87
97
98
96
100
93
92
88
97
100
100
90
97

Winter Wheat: Percent Emerged,
Selected States 1
Week Ending
20032007
Nov 23,
Nov 16,
Nov 23,
Avg.
2008
2008
2007
Percent

AR
CA
CO
ID
IL
IN
KS
MI
MO
MT
NE
NC
OH
OK
OR
SD
TX
WA

82
30
99
97
99
97
95
100
76
99
100
41
100
96
69
100
85
85

Percent

74
20
99
94
92
94
91
98
64
97
100
31
100
92
55
100
83
81

Percent

Percent

76
28
100
95
99
100
95
100
89
99
100
44
100
82
90
100
69
96

88
88
92
18 Sts
1
These 18 States planted 90% of last year's winter
wheat acreage.

79
31
100
95
97
95
96
94
85
96
100
53
97
92
87
100
80
97
91

State

Cotton: Percent Harvested,
Selected States 1
Week Ending
Nov 23,
Nov 16,
Nov 23,
2008
2008
2007
Percent

AL
AZ
AR
CA
GA
KS
LA
MS
MO
NC
OK
SC
TN
TX
VA

95
65
100
85
81
35
99
98
100
88
56
80
99
53
81

Percent

Percent

20032007
Avg.
Percent

Percent

91
71
96
95
82
51
100
100
93
86
68
82
93
60
85

94
74
100
98
76
69
100
100
100
94
67
96
99
66
99

91
60
98
75
70
18
99
96
100
82
44
73
98
40
73

State

Sorghum: Percent Harvested,
Selected States 1
Week Ending
Nov 23,
Nov 16,
Nov 23,
2008
2008
2007
Percent

100
82
88
73
100
82
61
45
54
74
84

100
89
90
86
100
89
77
98
69
91
91

AR
CO
IL
KS
LA
MO
NE
NM
OK
SD
TX

Percent

100
99
100
99
100
98
99
100
91
100
97

20032007
Avg.
Percent

100
89
98
93
100
97
98
64
83
99
86

91
98
78
88
11 Sts
1
These 11 States harvested 96% of last year's sorghum
acreage.

76
80
64
73
15 Sts
1
These 15 States harvested 99% of last year's cotton
acreage.

State

Sunflower: Percent Harvested,
Selected States 1
Week Ending
Nov 23,
Nov 16,
Nov 23,
2008
2008
2007
Percent

CO
KS
ND
SD

Percent

94
86
89
71

90
70
83
61

Percent

100
100
99
95

20032007
Avg.
Percent

99
94
97
97

4 Sts
85
77
98
97
1
These 4 States harvested 86% of last year's sunflower
acreage.

Crop Progress
November 2008

2

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

State

Winter Wheat: Crop Condition
by Percent, Selected States
Week Ending Nov 23, 2008
VP
P
F
G

EX

Percent

Percent

Percent

Percent

Percent

0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
4
11

1
0
1
0
0
2
6
2
2
2
3
1
2
5
23
1
12
22

49
5
17
13
22
23
18
19
42
37
18
16
26
31
34
32
36
44

45
50
45
78
65
62
60
58
50
56
64
80
54
51
35
57
41
22

5
45
37
9
13
13
14
20
6
5
15
3
18
12
7
10
7
1

18 Sts

2

6

27

52

13

Prev Wk
Prev Yr

1
6

6
13

27
37

55
39

11
5

AR
CA
CO
ID
IL
IN
KS
MI
MO
MT
NE
NC
OH
OK
OR
SD
TX
WA

VP-Very Poor, P-Poor, F-Fair, G-Good, EX-Excellent.
National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 2007 planted acres.

Crop Progress
November 2008

3

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

Crop Progress and Condition Survey and Estimating Procedures
Survey Procedures: Crop progress and condition estimates are based on survey data collected each week
from early April through the end of November. The non-probability crop progress and condition surveys
include input from more than 5,000 reporters whose occupations provide them opportunities to make visual
observations and frequently bring them in contact with farmers in their counties. Based on standard
definitions, these reporters subjectively estimate progress of farmers’ activities and progress of crops through
various stages of development. They also provide subjective evaluations of crop conditions.
Most reporters complete their questionnaires on Friday or early Monday morning and submit them to the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Field Offices in their States by mail, telephone, fax, e-mail,
or through a secured internet website. A small number of reports are completed on Thursday, Saturday, and
Sunday. Regardless of when questionnaires are completed, reporters are asked to report for the week ending
on Sunday. For reports submitted prior to the Sunday reference date, a degree of uncertainty is introduced
by projections for weekend changes in progress and condition. By the end of the 2001 season, nearly twothirds of the data were being submitted through the internet website. As a result, about one-half of all data
are submitted on Monday morning, significantly reducing projection uncertainty.
Reporters are sent written reporting instructions at the beginning of each season and are contacted
periodically to ensure proper reporting. Terms and definitions of crop stages and condition categories used
as reporting guidelines are available on the NASS website at:
www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/National_Crop_Progress/terms_definitions.asp.
Estimating Procedures: Reported data are reviewed for reasonableness and consistency by comparing with
data reported the previous week and data reported in surrounding counties for the current week. Each State
Field Office summarizes the reported data to district and State levels, weighting each county’s reported data
by NASS county acreage estimates. Summarized indications are compared with previous week estimates,
and progress items are compared with earlier stages of development and historical averages to ensure
reasonableness. Weather events and reporter comments are also taken into consideration. State estimates
are submitted to the Agricultural Statistics Board (ASB) along with supporting comments, where they are
compared with surrounding States and compiled into a National level summary by weighting each State by
its acreage estimates.
Revision Policy: Progress and condition estimates in the Crop Progress report are released after 4:00 pm
ET on the first business day of the week. These estimates are preliminary and subject to corrections or
updates in the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin that is released after 12:00 pm ET on the second business
day of the week. These estimates are subject to revision the following week.

Crop Progress
November 2008

4

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

ACCESS TO REPORTS!!
For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services:
INTERNET ACCESS
All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the
Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov.
E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION
All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. Starting
with the NASS Home Page at www.nass.usda.gov, under the right navigation, Receive reports by
Email, click on National or State. Follow the instructions on the screen.
--------------------------------PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS
CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK: 800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada)
Other areas, please call 703-605-6220
FAX: 703-605-6900
(Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.)
---------------------------------ASSISTANCE
For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information about NASS or its products or
services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or email: [email protected].
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities
on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status,
familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs,
reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance
program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)
should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or
(202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.