Indiana and Nebraska Crop Tour Numbers Reveal Variable Crops Due to Weather, Disease

As Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts set out on day two, the western leg continues to show more consistency in yield potential than the eastern leg this year. It appears more than adequate moisture is pulling up dryland yields in Nebraska, while wet spots caused unevenness in Indiana.

At the end of today, crop scouts pegged the Nebraska and Indiana corn crops more than 10 bu. over the three-year averages, and both are more than 3% higher than last year.

(ProFarmer)

(ProFarmer)

While Indiana measured lower kernels and grain length, its higher ear count added up to push it beyond Nebraska’s projected yield.

The in-field survey work in both states also led to above-average soybean ratings. Nebraska pod counts in 2025 beat the previous record from 2010.

(ProFarmer)

(ProFarmer)

Both lead scouts from the two tour legs say the biggest takeaway from today’s work is disease. Southern rust in corn has “blown up,” and disease pressure in soybeans has the lead scouts questioning how the soybean crop will finish.

Doug Miller, Iowa farmer and eastern leg scout, says day two brought higher-yielding samples as they moved west.

“This last field we were in is the greenest I’ve seen the corn since we’ve been on it. Indiana’s going to have a good crop. Conditions to me look ideal here right now,” Miller says.

From disease pressure to too much rain, some scouts found a solid Indiana crop, while other routes exposed extreme variability, proving Indiana just may be a mixed bag this year due to excessive rain.

“Indiana’s got some tip back. Starting to see some of this. Some of this is population driven in that it was planted too thick with a lot of cloudy days with all the moisture that had,” says Randy Dowdy, host of the “Breaking Barriers” podcast and eastern leg scout.

Dowdy found a mix of mature and immature crops. That’s why he says there’s still risk for growers to lose yield potential.

“There’s potential out there, but it’s unrealized if we don’t finish. And when we have issues like ear shanks causing a problem, we have issues like disease that’s going to take yield from us, and we have issues where excessive rain has started leaching out some of the potassium and nitrogen and taking away yield potential because the plants are firing, no doubt about it. There’s potential out there, but there is a lot of potential for that yield to be lost as much as it is to be captured at this point,” Dowdy says.

On the soybean side for day two of the eastern leg, Richard Guse, Minnesota farmer and eastern leg scout, observed a crop that mimicked last year.

“In Indiana, it’s a pretty good crop. So far, actually, in both Ohio and Indiana, we took the same route as last year, and I would say the corn and beans are pretty identical overall to a year ago,” Gruse says.

While the crop in Indiana shows some strength, scouts are quick to mention the flaws they see that will ding bushels on final yield.

“USDA numbers say a tremendous crop. In my opinion, it may be above what’s normal based on Pro Farmer tours and yield history. There may be a crop out there, but it is definitely random. It is definitely variable, and there is a lot of potential that can still be taken away due to the disease,” Dowdy says.

While variability may plague the eastern leg, the western leg’s crop shows strength.

In Nebraska, crop scouts are finding both corn and soybean yield potential is above last year — mainly due to ample moisture in dryland areas. After back-to-back years of drought in Nebraska, this year crop scouts had mud on their boots.

“We have some areas that have had 30" of rain over the last two and a half months. So, it’s been amazing,” says Jeff Mueller, BASF, agronomic service representative.

Early assessments by scouts showed some routes up 8% to 10% compared to the past two years. Weed and disease pressure in corn was spotty. But scouts did find some green snap and tip back.

“We had one field that had pollination issues. We had another field [where] I think it was probably the warm nights that affected the grain fill in the ear,” says Brent Judisch, Pro Farmer crop scout and farmer from Cedar Falls, Iowa. “Which likely shaved some yield, but at least the kernels are filling in. I think there’s more kernel weight on the ear than we would have had otherwise.”

Judisch says the corn will need some cool nights to finish, but with ample moisture, its possible yields could exceed last year and USDA’s record 192 bushel estimate.

“In my 13 years, this is probably one of the better crops I’ve seen. Mainly because the dryland is not bringing the average down. It’s pushing the average yield up this year,” Judisch says.

Scouts also found a soybean crop in Nebraska with pod counts similar to last year.

“The pods in Nebraska were filled well. There’s a lot of three-bean pods. There’s going to be a lot of good, big heavy beans,” says Leon Dorn, Pro Farmer crop scout and farmer from Firth, Neb.

If rain continues, he thinks the statewide yield could exceed USDA’s 57-bushel prediction.

“We have really good potential,” he says. “We had really good potential last year, and it didn’t pan out. I’m going to reserve a little bit of judgment because we don’t know what next month’s weather is going to be like.”