The USDA's weekly crop progress report indicates that the "good-to-excellent" rating for U.S. corn remains unchanged from the previous week, holding at its lowest level for this time of year since 2023. According to the report, across the 18 states accounting for 91% of the nation's corn acreage, 92% of the crop had reached the dough stage by Sunday, August 30—up from 86% the previous week and comparing to 89% last year and a five-year average of 89%. The proportion of corn reaching the dent stage stood at 62% (up from 45% the previous week), trailing both the year-ago figure and the five-year average of 56%. Corn reaching maturity was at 13% (up from 6% the previous week), compared to 14% last year and a five-year average of 13%. The good-to-excellent rating remained steady at 57% (versus 69% last year), while the poor-to-very-poor rating held at 17% (versus 9% last year).

The USDA report highlights that U.S. corn's good-to-excellent rating is at its lowest level for this period since 2023, the poor-to-very-poor rating exceeds last year's levels, and the progression into the dent stage lags behind historical norms. Expectations of a potential decline in U.S. corn yields are supporting international corn prices; this, in turn, raises import costs and provides bullish support for domestic corn spot prices. Regarding futures, the benchmark corn contract (2611) on the Dalian Commodity Exchange closed at 2,293 RMB/tonne on September 1, 2026—down 5 RMB/tonne from the previous trading day—though the news provides some bullish support for corn futures prices.

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