Corn harvest gets rolling

The U.S. corn harvest is officially under way as of the week ended Saturday, with 6 percent of the harvest completed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. In the weekly crop report released late Monday, the USDA said farmers in Texas reported 56 percent of the corn crop harvest was done. In Tennessee, with the second highest completion rate for the corn harvest, 33 percent of the harvest is reported done. In Missouri, 32 percent of the corn harvest is completed, the USDA said. The USDA has yet to post harvest progress for the U.S. soybean crop. In the 18 largest soybean producing states, 8 percent of the crop has been dropping leaves, the USDA reported. Thirty percent of the nation's soybean fields are listed in good or excellent condition. The rest are considered poor, very poor or fair. From a week earlier, soybean field conditions were little changed. Ninety-nine percent of the rice crop has headed out and 27 percent of that crop's harvest is completed in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas, the six largest rice producing states. The spring wheat harvest is 89 percent complete, well ahead of the five-year average of 57 percent for this week of the year, the USDA said.