We 1 (12-09) Crop Progress Washington, D.C. Released December 14, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Crop Progress" call Julie Schmidt at (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. ********************************************************************************************* *The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will release a National Crop Progress * *report at 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 21. Items included in the report will be Corn * *Harvested and Cotton Harvested. NASS will continue to monitor the harvest progress of * *these crops to determine if additional data collection and estimation are necessary * *after December 21. * ********************************************************************************************* Not Applicable (NA) was published where estimates do not exist for the previous year or 5 year average due to this year's extended Crop Progress season Corn: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2004- State:Dec 13,:Dec 6, :Dec 13,: 2008 : 2009 : 2009 : 2008 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 95 88 99 98 IL : 90 85 100 100 IN : 96 91 100 100 IA : 96 94 NA NA KS : 96 94 100 100 KY : 99 99 100 100 MI : 89 86 100 99 MN : 91 87 100 100 MO : 95 92 100 100 NE : 91 88 NA NA NC : 100 100 100 100 ND : 60 53 NA NA OH : 98 94 100 100 PA : 86 82 NA NA SD : 82 73 97 99 TN : 100 99 100 100 TX : 100 100 100 100 WI : 85 77 NA NA : 18 Sts: 92 88 NA NA -------------------------------------- 1/ These 18 States harvested 94% of last year's corn acreage. Cotton: Percent Harvested, Selected States 1/ -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 2004- State:Dec 13,:Dec 6, :Dec 13,: 2008 : 2009 : 2009 : 2008 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 82 77 100 100 AZ : 92 83 79 86 AR : 100 98 100 100 CA : 100 99 100 99 GA : 79 76 NA NA KS : 59 43 NA NA LA : 100 100 100 100 MS : 100 98 100 100 MO : 98 94 100 100 NC : 92 91 100 99 OK : 61 59 NA NA SC : 97 93 NA NA TN : 98 95 100 100 TX : 92 87 83 82 VA : 94 90 99 99 : 15 Sts: 91 88 NA NA -------------------------------------- 1/ These 15 States harvested 99% of last year's cotton acreage. 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, Friday, 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 two-thirds 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/index .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 and Condition tables expected next week: Corn - Harvested Cotton - Harvested 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. For free 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. 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