Crop Tour Preview: 70% of Nebraska Corn in Good to Excellent Condition
Heat and humidity have dominated weather headlines for Nebraska in recent weeks, though conditions in most of the state are not nearly as severe as they are for two of its neighbors, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Enough rain has fallen on Nebraska corn and soybeans this season that both crops are still in relatively good shape overall, for now.
That’s what scouts are likely to find as they evaluate both crops across the state on Aug. 16-17, as part of the annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour.
As of Aug. 8, 70% of the Nebraska corn crop was in good to excellent condition, according to USDA-NASS. That compares to 64% of the total U.S. corn crop with those condition ratings.
Along with that, USDA rated 20% of the Nebraska corn crop as fair.
Corn pollination across the state was 99% complete. That’s three percentage points above the five-year average (2016-2020) of 96%.
In 2020, Pro Farmer tour scouts recorded a 175.15 bu. per acre average for corn in Nebraska. The tour three-year average for corn yields in Nebraska is 175.62 bu. per acre.
The final USDA corn yield average for Nebraska in 2020 was 181 bu. per acre.
Nebraska soybeans are having a solid season, so far. Seventy-six percent of the state’s soybean crop is rated as good to excellent, and an additional 18% is rated as fair.
Those numbers are stronger than what farmers are seeing across the country. Overall, USDA-NASS said 60% of the nation’s soybean crop is in good to excellent condition.
Despite current strong yield projections for 2021, deteriorating weather conditions could keep Nebraska farmers from harvesting above average crops, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension.
On Aug. 4, UNL Extension reported it anticipates a “high probability of near-average yields in irrigated corn this season.” Across rainfed locations, Extension said Nebraska farmers will see a variable 2021 corn yield.
“Temperature and rainfall during August will likely define the trend for all sites across the region,” UNL Extension noted in the report available here: https://bit.ly/2VKhAi2
This year, scouts will ground truth USDA's August 12 report, with the 2021 Pro Farmer Crop Tour set to kick off this coming Monday.
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour provides insights into potential corn and soybean yields and gathers scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across seven states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
“USDA’s corn and soybean crop ratings show there’s a great divide between the areas where rains have been prevalent and the areas that have been dry,” says Pro Farmer Editor, Brian Grete. “Crop Tour will give us a first-hand look at whether the good areas are enough to compensate for the poorer locations. This is a service we provide to the industry, and anyone with interest can tune into our live-streamed coverage each night of the tour.”
Register and attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast live at 7 p.m. Central each night where you’ll receive daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data from our tour leaders.
Pricing
Online Nightly Broadcast – Free
Attend In-Person Tour nightly meeting - $40 per person (includes 2 drink tickets and dinner)
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