The 2026 crop progress report for the week ending April 26 delivered the fastest single-week corn planting surge of the spring season. Nationally, corn planting jumped from 11 percent to 25 percent in seven days — running six points ahead of the five-year average of 19 percent. That pace reflects a rapid drydown across the Corn Belt following the flash flooding that hit southern Indiana and the Ohio River Valley the prior week. State-by-state, Texas led at 71 percent planted, Missouri reached 40 percent, Illinois hit 29 percent, Indiana reached 30 percent, and Nebraska came in at 26 percent. Iowa, often a bellwether state, stood at 22 percent. Corn emergence nationally reached 7 percent, with Texas already at 64 percent emerged, Tennessee at 46, and North Carolina at 40.
Soybean planting nearly doubled as well, jumping from 12 to 23 percent nationally against a five-year average of just 12 percent. The southern tier is well ahead of normal. Louisiana reached 77 percent planted, Mississippi 66 percent, Arkansas 61 percent, and Tennessee 62 percent. Illinois and Indiana both logged meaningful gains at 36 and 35 percent respectively, while Iowa remained at just 11 percent — a signal that northern parts of the Corn Belt still have significant planting ahead. Soybean emergence hit 8 percent nationally, led by Mississippi at 50 percent and both Arkansas and Louisiana at 40 percent.
2026 crop progress report shows winter wheat at 30 percent good or excellent as heading runs 2 weeks ahead
Winter wheat development tells a mixed story. The crop is heading fast, 34 percent nationally versus 20 percent the prior week and a five-year average of just 21 percent. California leads at 90 percent headed, Arkansas at 75 percent, Texas at 65 percent, and Kansas at 43 percent. That acceleration reflects the warm, dry conditions that have defined the Southern Plains winter. But conditions are not good. Only 30 percent of the winter wheat crop is rated good to excellent, with 35 percent rated fair and 35 percent rated poor to very poor. That split between fast development and weak condition ratings is a warning sign — when wheat heads under stress, grain fill suffers.
Kansas State University economist Gregg Ibendahl’s model projects a 31 percent drop in Kansas wheat production this year, to just 240 million bushels at 39.4 bushels per acre. For more on the weather driving that stress, Agroinformacion covered the DTN and Pro Farmer analysis showing western Kansas received less than one-quarter of normal rainfall over the past 60 days.
Rice at 69 percent and sorghum on pace as cotton gains ground in the West
Rice is one of the strongest stories in the April 26 report. Nationally, 69 percent of the rice crop is planted, against a five-year average of 53 percent. Louisiana and Mississippi are nearly finished at 92 and 91 percent respectively. Arkansas stands at 79 percent and Texas at 78 percent. Missouri is at 48 percent and California at 10 percent. Rice emergence reached 49 percent nationally, led by Louisiana at 82 percent. For a crop whose farmers were under extreme financial pressure just weeks ago — cotton and rice farmers in the Delta saw some of the deepest SDRP payments in the program — a strong early-planted crop is a meaningful positive signal.
Spring wheat planting reached 19 percent nationally, slightly below the five-year average of 22 percent. Washington led at 76 percent and Idaho at 66 percent. South Dakota reached 48 percent but major Northern Plains states remain early — North Dakota at 7 percent, Minnesota at 6 percent. Sorghum stands at 20 percent nationally, in line with average, with Texas leading at 65 percent. Cotton reached 16 percent nationally, slightly ahead of the 13 percent five-year average. California leads at 75 percent, Arizona at 58 percent, and Texas at 20 percent, while Georgia stands at just 6 percent. The original data was published by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service for the week ending April 26, 2026.