On day three of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, scouts moved through Illinois and western Iowa to assess how this year’s uneven weather has shaped corn and soybean yield potential.
Illinois Corn Lacks Consistency
In Illinois, planting delays followed by heavy rains and wind events have taken a toll on the crop, leaving fields inconsistent and, in many cases, lacking vigor. Conditions range from healthy stands to drowned-out areas in low-lying fields, with one farmer describing the season as “a death by 1,000 cuts.”
Much of the state has been hit hard by weather. Illinois logged its sixth-wettest June on record and the wettest start to August on record, adding stress to a crop in some of its highest-yielding counties.
According to Emily Carolan, Pro Farmer Crop Tour lead data analyst, the kernels around average for the fields sampled in Illinois is the lowest since 2013.
“A storm came through northeast Iowa and into Illinois and dropped 7 to 11 inches when the plant was at the V6 stage establishing kernel rows. When grain length was then being established at V7 to V10, another storm and heavy rain appears to have shaved the genetic potential off of the crop,” she explains.
That reality on the ground stands in contrast to USDA’s Aug. 12 report that pegged the state’s corn yield at 212 bu. per acre.
“It’s underwhelming,” says Lane Akre of Pro Farmer, who leads the Eastern leg of the tour. “It’s consistently below average. It looks good from the road, but then it comes down to ear count. In some samples, we found big and impressive ears, but there’s just not enough of them.”
Akre says the variability has been a recurring theme across the eastern leg of the tour in 2026, with lower ear counts weighing on production expectations.
Crop scout Dustin Guy also points to late-season nitrogen deficiencies in the corn crop.
“You can see the nitrogen deficiencies working its way from the top down with yellowing,” Guy says.
Illinois Soybeans Show Some Promise, but Disease Is Present
Soybean samples in Illinois looked somewhat better than corn, but pod counts were still falling short and disease concerns were emerging.
“There’s some SDS — it’s not widespread—but it’s there,” Guy says.
One takeaway from the Illinois stops was that both corn and soybean samples improved as scouts moved farther west across the state.
Currently, USDA’s August forecast has Illinois soybeans at 67 bu. per acre. While scouts note soybean health improved in western Illinois, emerging SDS and disappointing pod counts across the rest of the state could keep those high yield goals out of reach.
Western Iowa Corn Looks Healthier
Scouts entered northwest Iowa with the goal of beginning statewide yield estimates, and early samples showed a crop with more promise than parts of Illinois.
There were some standout fields that could help lift averages.
“The first two pulls were rather underwhelming. This last stop that we had is, I think, the biggest yield I’ve seen on tour,” says Ted Seifried of Zaner Ag Hedge, referring to a 294-bu. sample.
Such heavy-yielding fields will be critical if the state is to meet USDA’s August forecast at 216 bu. per acre.
Chip Flory, who leads the Western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, says Iowa corn looks healthy overall, though some leaf disease is present. Still, early emergence issues and stand problems have left some samples looking like “two studs and a half dud.”
“These samples show reduced grain length or tip back, likely due to emergence issues or pollination problems,” Flory says. “Despite high populations, such as 32,000 per acre, there are instances of missing ears in rows and blank stalks.”
Heat during pollination likely contributed to tipback seen across parts of the crop tour, though western Iowa may have escaped some of the worst effects.
“There were multiple windows in July where those overnight temperatures didn’t drop below the mid-70s, and that obviously has been an issue,” Seifried says. “We’ve seen it less in Iowa on our route.”
Another positive for corn: disease pressure appears limited in the region.
“The disease pressure — at least in our area — is very limited,” says Iowa farmer and crop scout Kevin Ross.
Soybean Disease Pressures Build in Iowa
Soybeans in western Iowa showed more disease than scouts expected.
Crop scout Greg Lehenbauer says the crop may look good from the road, but closer inspection tells a different story.
“Soybeans look good from the road, pods are filling, and you can’t see it from the top, but from the set of plants pulled as samples, one is dead — in what looks like brown stem rot,” Lehenbauer says.
Conditions in June helped set the stage for soybean diseases including SDS, white mold and brown stem rot, and scouts say the pressure is already weighing on yield potential. USDA pulled back on Iowa’s soybean yield in its August report to 62 bu. per acre.
Still, some scouts say there may be room for the crop to finish strong if weather cooperates.
“I think they have the potential out there, especially now that it is raining on us,” says Lucas Johnson, a crop scout and farmer from Fairmont, Minn. “The pods will go and finish filling more. So I think what we are measuring is potential right now, and it’s not set in stone yet.”
This year, Farm Journal takes you deeper into the Pro Farmer Crop Tour than ever before with live coverage Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST. Follow along with scouts in the fields, market analysis and more.
