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
Brad Kooima of Kooima Kooima Varilek says live and feeder cattle futures gapped lower on the opening after a human case of New World screwworm (NWS) was announced over the weekend.
Pro Farmer economist Lane Akre says corn and soybeans posted higher weekly closes and should be able to build on that next week with the push from the lower yield and production estimates from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour.
On the heels of Crop Tour, Pro Farmer projects corn yields at 6.1 bu. below USDA’s August estimate, while soybean yield numbers are nearly aligned.
The Minnesota corn crop is going for gold. Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts expect the crop will reach a record 202.86 bu. average, if it can outpace southern rust and tar spot. Scouts peg the Iowa corn crop at a 198.43 bu. average, but it also faces disease challenges.
The Minnesota corn crop may break records while Iowa crops face disease challenges.
Crop Conditions News
Extreme weather situations, including the annual Derecho, hit regions on the eastern leg earlier this year. While the eastern Corn Belt isn’t as dry as its western counterpart, yield potential looks lower than 2021.
Tuesday’s Crop Tour trek through Nebraska and Indiana gave scouts a glimpse at the moderate to exceptional drought Mother Nature has brought down on soil and crops this growing season.
Pro Farmer estimates the U.S. corn crop at 13.759 billion bushels, with an average yield of 168.1 bu. per acre, and the U.S. soybean crop at 4.535 billion bushels, with an average yield of 51.7 bu. per acre.
Winter wheat planting has been slow this fall and several factors may help push prices higher into the new year.
Hard Red Spring wheat ratings in the good to excellent categories dropped from 20% to 16% this week, compared to a five-year average of 66%.
Pro Farmer Analysis
Chinese President Xi Jinping would much prefer to avoid a tariff battle that risks proving much more devastating than the first round.
U.S. agricultural exports totaled $13.13 billion in September against imports of $17.39 billion, resulting in a monthly trade deficit of $4.26 billion.
The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates, though Malanga signals future economic stability may be threatened by conflicting survey data, recent steepening of the yield curve, and a federal deficit near 7% of GDP.
We recap this week’s price action and provide outlook for the next 5, 30 and 90 day segments.
Agriculture powerhouse Brazil has an abundance of cheap crops to make biofuels, providing the nation a leg up on competitors including the United States.