The fourth and final day of the 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour wrapped up on Thursday, Aug. 22 with numbers from Minnesota and eastern Iowa samples combined for full Iowa results.
Scouts sampled the Iowa corn yield average to be 192.79 bu. per acre for the state, while Minnesota’s corn yield estimate was 164.90 bu. per acre.
Iowa’s Crop Tour Results
In Iowa, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found a strong crop — better than last year and the three-year average. In fact, it sets a new Crop Tour record.
- Iowa corn yield estimate: 192.79 bu. per acre, up 5.46% from 2023
- Ear count: 102.66, up 0.67% from last year
- Grain length: 6.98, up 6.08% from 2023
Iowa’s pod counts were 1,312.31 in a 3’x3’, which is up 10.24% from 2023.
Minnesota’s Crop Tour Results
In Minnesota, Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts found a corn crop sampling 15 bu. below last year’s.
- Minnesota corn yield estimate: 164.90 bu. per acre, down 9.07% from 2023
- Ear count: 99.52, up 0.11% from last year
- Grain length: 6.04, down 4.43% from 2023
Minnesota’s pod counts were 1,036.59 in a 3’x3’ square, which is up 5.24% from 2023.
Crop Tour’s Front and Back Half Tell Different Stories
“The first two days of the tour all we did was moved bushels from South Dakota and Nebraska to Ohio and Indiana, compared to the USDA estimates,” says Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk and leader of Pro Farmer Crop Tour’s western leg. “We had laid the groundwork for a really good crop in Iowa, especially in southwest Iowa and south central Iowa. In northwest Iowa, we ran into problems, which we anticipated with having too much rain during the planting season.”
Flory adds the crop in Illinois is frankly, really good.
“In our final day running the routes, we’ve got a nice crop in Iowa, but Minnesota is another story,” Flory says.
Iowa’s Variability Is Overpowered By A Strong Crop Overall
Pro Farmer Crop Tour Scouts sampled a record high corn crop in Iowa and found a heavily podded soybean crop.
Pod counts so good corn samplers are waiting on the soybean samplers to count pods! #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/HQlMmWmTjo
— Bruce Lantzky (@Lantzkyfarms) August 22, 2024
“Last year we had a very good crop, a record crop and most spots. And this year we just–we won’t be there. We’ll be off a solid probably 10 to 15%,” says Zach Egesdal, a farmer from Mason City, Iowa, which experienced a soggy planting season.
From what the scouts collected, Iowa’s garden spot may be the southeast part of the state in 2024.
“My best crop was 2018, and I really think I had the potential to have a better crop than 2018 right now,” says Dustin Guy from Booker, Iowa.
And while Scout Bryan Kaufman, who farms in southeast Iowa says he thinks his area may see corn yields top 250 bu. to 260 bu. He shares his soybean crop is also strong—maybe in his top two or three of all time.
Minnesota’s Corn Crop Leaves A Lot To Be Desired
“The corn crop in Minnesota looks like it ran out of gas,” Flory says.
Record-setting rains throughout the planting season set up the Minnesota crop on the wrong foot. And then a dry summer brought another set of challenges.
10 stops along my route in southwest Minnesota. Not a single #corn field looked good from the road, and that largely held true inside. Corn was yellow and uneven everywhere. Average yield 164 bu/acre. This same route was 177 last year, 210 in 2022 and 201 in 2021. #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/EvemmtXGqm
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) August 22, 2024
“For our farm, it’s looking like 175-180 bu. corn which we should have 225 bu. And soybeans I don’t know. We’re lucky to get 50 bu. and they should be 60 bu. plus,” says James Willers, a farmer from Beaver Creek, Minn.
Reflections On The Eastern Leg Of The Tour
As eastern leg tour lead, Pro Farmer editor Brian Grete shares the strength of this crop will still depend on getting it across the finish line.
“On the eastern side of the corn belt, it’s a strong crop, but it should be,” Grete says. “USDA put a record yield on corn for five of the seven states. Ohio isn’t one of those—but if we weren’t talking about last year’s record crop in Ohio, this year would be up there. This year is comparing to last year’s gold standard.”
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View Day 3 Results
View Day 2 Results
View Day 1 Results
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For more than 30 years, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts have been providing the agriculture industry with insights into potential corn and soybean production, gathering scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
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