The harvest of soybeans in the United States is nearing completion, and more than half of the corn is harvested.

According to Washington, Nov. 16, the United States Department of Agriculture said on Monday that the soybean harvest is progressing rapidly, nearing 90% completion in the most recent week. The corn harvest is more than halfway through because of the good weather.

The USDA said the soybean harvest rate was 89 per cent, up from 75 per cent the previous week. During the 2004-2008 crop year, the soybean harvest rate was 96 per cent. The corn harvest rate is 54%, compared with 37% last week, with a five-year average of 89%.

Rainy and cool weather this year has caused serious damage to corn and soybean crops. Recent good weather conditions have enabled farmers to work in the fields and the harvest process has been greatly improved, but rainfall is expected to return to the corn crop belt later this week.

Traders had expected the government to report a soybean harvest of 90 per cent and a corn harvest of about 50 per cent.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the corn harvest rate is 59% in Iowa and 52% in Illinois. Both are well below 89% and 95% of the average, respectively. The Department of Agriculture also said the soybean harvest rate was 96% in Iowa and 90% in Illinois, 3% and 9% lower than the five-year average, respectively.

The USDA expects the winter wheat sowing rate to be 90%, below the five-year average of 95%. The emergence rate is expected to be 77%, up 6% from last week, but 10% lower than the five-year average.

Like other crops in the United States, the cotton harvest is also lagging behind previous years. The cotton harvest rate in the latest week was 60%, up from 44% last week, but lower than the five-year average of 68%.