The 2023 ProFarmer Crop Tour kicks off next week, with the eastern leg and western legs starting in Noblesville, Ind. and Grand Island, Neb., respectively.
Brad Nelson and Tim Gregerson, master scouts and Crop Tour regulars, give a preview of what to expect on each leg of the trip. Their stories couldn’t be farther from the same.
Eastern leg corn
Dry conditions were a theme on the western leg of the tour last year, as the La Nina weather pattern took a firm hold on drought conditions. The heat and dried-out soils crawled to the eastern leg this year, according to Nelson, who lives in Southeastern Minnesota.
“We’ve lost yield this summer compared to a year ago and we’ll be down quite a bit on yield. Right now, we’re more in-line with an average crop, or just below, but we’ll be out of moisture again by next week,” he says.
Kernel depth and abortion is a fear in southeastern Minnesota, according to Nelson. He expects the forecasted heat this weekend will be revealed on Crop Tour next week.
Eastern leg soybeans
Drought aside, Nelson says the soybean crop is doing “fairly well” this year. Outside of mild cases of aphids and spider mites in border rows, he says there hasn’t been any detrimental event to impact soybean yield.
“I put fungicide on my soybeans right after we had extreme heat, along with some insecticide. We got ahead of the aphids enough to where I haven’t heard anyone mass-spraying for them like we’ve had to in the past,” Nelson says.
Western leg soybeans
Lingering drought in the West took a late season break on crops this year, according to Gregerson. He says Mother Nature flipped the switch from drought to dew in a matter of days. And with the dew came a slew of diseases.
“We have thick, white mold starting to run ramped here in east-central Nebraska, and just this week we’re starting to notice Sudden Death Syndrome—not bad yet by any means, but it’s on its way,” Gregerson says. “We’ve also seen gall midge.”
Western leg corn
Crop Tour regulars have grown used to seeing dented corn and Gregerson says to expect the same story in the West again this year.
“Our plant dates from this Spring are April 12th to April 14th and almost 100% of our corn is dented. The milk line is not down too far yet, but there’s a great deal of dent in our area,” Gregerson says.
As far as irrigated corn, Gregerson says it handled heat stress better this year than last. While he says irrigated ear length is slightly shorter than last year, pollination did well, and tip back proved less detrimental.
A look ahead
As Gregerson and Nelson prepare to hop on each leg of the tour, they both agree that they’re most looking forward to new sights and socializing.
“I’m ready to see the tour with my own eyes; There’s no better perspective than getting my boots in the field,” Gregerson says.
“I like networking with people who have the same passion for ag that I have. A good amount of us come back each year and it’s fun to visit with them and ride along with new people,” Nelson says.
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