Pro Farmer Crop Tour

Boots in the field, before the market moves.

Every August, more than 100 Pro Farmer scouts sample 2,000+ corn and soybean fields across seven states — an independent, disciplined read on the size of the U.S. crop, weeks before harvest.

A Pro Farmer Crop Tour scout sampling in the middle of a soybean field, seen from the air
33rd year
of Tour scouting since 1993
7 states
IL, IN, IA, MN, NE, OH & SD
2,000+
corn & soybean fields sampled
August 17–20, 2026

Nightly Meeting Schedule

Register to Attend
Eastern Tour
Aug 17 — Noblesville, IN
Embassy Suites Noblesville Indianapolis Conference Center · this stop runs one hour later
Aug 18 — Bloomington, IL
DoubleTree by Hilton, 10 Brickyard Drive
Aug 19 — Riverside, IA
Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, 3184 Hwy 22
Aug 20 — Rochester, MN
Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE
Western Tour
Aug 17 — Grand Island, NE
Riverside Golf Club, 2820 Riverside Drive
Aug 18 — Nebraska City, NE
Lied Lodge, 2700 Sylvan Road
Aug 19 — Spencer, IA
Clay County Fair and Events Center, 800 West 18th Street
Aug 20 — Rochester, MN
Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE
Agenda for each nightly meeting
5:00–6:30
Registration & cocktail hour with sponsors
6:30–7:00
Dinner
7:00–8:00
Onsite program
8:00–8:15
Nightly broadcast online
8:15–8:30
In-person wrap-up & Q&A

All times CST. The Noblesville, IN meeting takes place one hour later than the times listed.

Latest Crop Tour News

Crop tour scouts on the eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour will make their way through western Illinois and into eastern Iowa today.
Field reports, data and scout observations from Ohio during the 2017 Farm Journal Midwest Crop Tour.
As Farm Journal Midwest Crop Tour scouts make their way farther into Illinois they’re seeing crop stress, but far less than what they saw the past two days. Compared to Indiana and Ohio, Illinois is in pretty good shape, but yield still might fall short of a normal year.
On the western leg of the Farm Journal Midwest Crop Tour, scouts got started this morning with checking corn and soybean fields just outside Sioux Falls, S.D.
Veteran crop tour scouts Kurt Line and Jarod Creed saw plenty of potential for soybeans along their routes in Nebraska, if Mother Nature will cooperate.

Where Crop Tour Scouts

Map of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouting region and Eastern and Western routes

The seven Crop Tour states account for roughly 70% of the nation's corn and soybean production. Two legs cover the region on consistent routes so the data lines up year over year.

Eastern leg

Begins in western Ohio, then works across Indiana, Illinois, eastern Iowa and into southern Minnesota, concluding in Rochester on Thursday night.

Western leg

Begins in southern South Dakota, then crosses eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and into southern Minnesota, concluding in Rochester on Thursday night.

Tour states

Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · Ohio · South Dakota

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