Pro Farmer Crop Tour 2026
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour provides insights into potential corn and soybean production and gathers scout reporting from 2,000+ fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
Watch Nightly Results
August 17-20, 2026: Tune in here to watch nightly results and analysis starting at 7:55 PM Central.
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour Route
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour 2026 takes place August 17-20, 2026. It simultaneously follows an Eastern and a Western route, with both scouting routes culminating in Rochester, Minnesota. Nightly meetings in each location review daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data. Attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast online at AgWeb.com/croptour.
Pro Farmer Crop Tour News
Pro Farmer Crop Tour’s data-gathering methods are disciplined, which produces consistent results. We break down the when, where, why and how behind the numbers.
The goal of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is to get an objective view of corn yield potential and count pods in a 3' square for soybeans. One of the keys this year will be how much damage the drought caused through June.
The grain markets had several drivers this week, including daily reports from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, more big purchases from China and continued uncertainty of the crop damage in Iowa.
The U.S. corn crop is consistently declining in condition. Currently 57% of the crop has a good or excellent rating, which ties with 2019 for the week’s worst corn condition rating since 2012.
“This is the first boots-on-the-ground assessment and that ought to be revealing,” says Jerry Gulke.
Crop Conditions News
Agronomic specialists are encouraging farmers to make their corn harvest plans now, prioritizing which fields to combine first and so forth. Evaluating how well the crop is standing on a field by field basis can help you plan the process and minimize having to pick up down corn.
If the legal challenge succeeds, the federal court decision would result in making the technology unavailable for sale or distribution to U.S. farmers.
High disease pressure and moisture variability could make for a tricky fall harvest season in the Midwest. Lean on these crucial combine settings adjustments to help you hang onto as many kernels as possible.
Kernel depth and fill contribute significantly to yield in newer hybrids. It’s one reason a ‘Hail Mary’ fungicide pass might still offer ROI and keep corn standing until combines roll.
A prematurely collapsing ear shank stops grain fill, leading to yield reductions that can reach as high as 40%.
Pro Farmer Analysis
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing a second Emergency Commodity Assistance Program Payment (ECAP) payment to eligible producers for the 2024 crop year.
U.S. shipments to China, worth around $120 million a month, collapsed after Beijing in March allowed permits to expire at hundreds of American meat facilities.
China significantly ramped up its buying of soybeans from Argentina this week.
Ag-state senators have asked to meet with President Trump on China’s trade retaliation against U.S. soybeans.
Price action summary and outlook for the next 5, 30 and 90 day segments.