Pro Farmer Crop Tour, Day 2: High-Yielding Indiana and Nebraska Crops Aim for State Records, Could Fall Short

As Day 2 of the 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour wrapped up on Tuesday, Indiana and Nebraska average corn and soybean yield estimates were coming in at higher levels than scouts saw in either state a year ago.

The results from day 2 were released Tuesday night. Scouts tapped the Indiana average corn yield estimate at 187.54 bu. per acre for the state, while Nebraska’s corn yield estimate was 173.25 bu. per acre.

Indiana’s Results

(Lori Hays)

In Indiana, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found a corn crop that posted higher numbers across the board for ear count, grain length and the number of kernels around the cob, compared to the 2023 crop.

• Indiana corn yield estimate: 187.54 bu. per acre, up 3.68% from 2023
• Ear count: 102.77, up 1.51% from last year
• Grain length: 6.84%, up 1.18% from 2023

(Lori Hays)

Indiana’s pod counts were 1,409.02 in a 3’x3' square, which is up 7.56% from 2023.

Nebraska’s Results

(Lori Hays)

In Nebraska, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found corn fields had fewer ears, but the grain length and number of kernels around the cob were higher compared with the 2023 crop.

• Nebraska corn yield estimate: 173.25 bu. per acre, up 3.61% from 2023
• Ear count: 90.91, down 0.19% from last year
• Grain length: 7.03, up 3.38% from 2023

(Lori Hays)

Nebraska’s pod counts were 1,172.48 in a 3’x3' square, which is up 1.07% from 2023.

Nebraska Sees Corn And Soybean Yields Rebound From 2023

Just a year ago at this time, temperatures in parts of Nebraska were a withering 105 degrees F as Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts on the western leg of the event stopped for the night to regroup, compare data and chart their yield estimates.

This season, Mother Nature did a 180, delivering sunny weather and a mild temperature that barely topped 75 degrees on Tuesday in Nebraska City, Neb., as scouts pulled off for their evening report.

The 2024 weather and overall crop conditions were a much-welcomed change from last year, said Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk and leader of Pro Farmer Crop Tour’s western leg. Flory said his initial dryland corn yield estimates from the first five stops of the day were unexpected, coming in at a low of 107 bu. per acre and a high of 141 bu. per acre. As his team headed east, however, dryland yield estimates improved significantly.

“The corn really came around as we went along. I had dryland corn estimates go (in order) 149.9, 162, 231 and 197,” Flory said.

Heading across northeast Nebraska, Brent Judisch, an Iowa farmer and scout on the western leg of the tour, said he saw good dryland corn yields on Tuesday, ranging from 180 bu. per acre to 200 bu. per acre.

“As we went south, it was a bit drier but we still had some good dryland yields for both corn and soybeans,” Judish said. “For the most part, the crops I looked at there were consistent.”

Nebraska Record Yield Potential Tripped Up By Hail, Pests?

Whether the Nebraska corn and soybean crops will reach USDA’s record yield projections of 194 bushels for corn and 59 bushels for soybeans, based on August 1 conditions, Flory said it’s probably not likely, given what scouts saw in fields on Tuesday.

One of Flory’s main concerns for corn is the amount of Western bean cutworm pressure he observed in fields.

“Of the five fields we looked at this morning first thing, four of them had it,” he said. “If you’re in Nebraska and have not been out to check for Western bean cutworm, you should probably go out and scout for it. You don’t want to be surprised by that pest this fall.”

Judisch’s one concern regarding both corn and soybean yield potential was an area in southern Nebraska with extensive hail damage.

“There’s probably a 9- or 10-mile long area where we saw hail damage and there was nothing to sample,” he said.

Kevin Keller, Pioneer field agronomist, added that south-central Nebraska corn has endured several rounds of hail damage this season. “When you look at some of the key corn-producing counties that were hit hard by hail, like Phelps County, that’s going to have a significant impact on the state’s final yield results.”

Tour scout Leon Dorn, who farms near Adams, Neb., said the soybean crop in his area looks good to excellent.

“We are definitely up from where we were last year with soybeans,” Dorn said. “We’re finding more pods, and the pods look like they have a lot of three and four beans in them. The crop is coming along really well. I think the 59 bushels USDA projected is possible, but we’ll have a better sense of that in the next month.”

Indiana Corn And Soybeans Yields Are Coming On Strong

Brian Grete did crop estimates in crop district 5 in central Indiana and crop district 4 in west-central Indiana on Tuesday. He said he found really strong corn and soybean yield potential along his route.

“Our average for the dryland corn yield along my route was 201.3 bu. per acre,” said Grete, editor of Pro Farmer and leader of the eastern leg of the Tour.

Soybean plants were heavily podded with beans, Grete added.

“They didn’t have as much topsoil moisture as what we saw in Ohio yesterday and in eastern Indiana, but it wasn’t dire by any means,” he said. “If the soybeans get a rain or maybe two – and they don’t have to be all that great of rains – they could finish really well.”

USDA currently has Indiana’s state-wide corn yield projected at 207 bu. per acre, which is up 2 percent over last year. USDA has the state’s soybean yield pegged for 62 bu. per acre, which is a 1.6 percent increase from 2023.

Grete said if the rest of this growing season continues as well as it has up to this point, those new records could potentially be realized though it would likely be a stretch.

Tour Scouts Are Upbeat About Indiana Crop Potential

Richard Guse, a Minnesota farmer who is a scout on the eastern leg of Crop Tour this year, agrees with Grete.

“When we got into Indiana, our soybean pod counts went way up Monday afternoon. Then, this morning we were getting really good pod counts,” Guse said. “If the trend continues, and the other routes see what we’re seeing, Indiana has the potential for a record soybean crop, the way it would appear to me.”

It was a similar story in the corn fields that were on Guse’s route.

“The corn that we measured this morning has been really good,” Guse said. I would say the consistency on the routes I’ve been on in Indiana is what stood out. On the corn, it’s been pretty consistent.”

Tour scouts measure not just ear counts, but also grain length and they count kernels around the cob. Guse said ear counts and grain length were both up in the fields he was in.

“The three ears in this last field were between 8” and 9” in length, and it had really good ear count,” he said. “The one thing that’s going to hurt it a little bit is they were only 16 kernels in diameter.”

While this route did produce a couple anomalies with giant ragweed in a corn field, those trouble spots were few and far between.

Scouts saw the potential for a large crop, and if you ask local agronomists, the stage is set for this crop to top last year’s yields.

“I’d say we’re better off this year compared to last year because we had that extended period of dry weather last year where things were almost going to start dying in the field,” said Phil Brunner, a senior field agronomist for BASF.

Bruner lives just outside of Noblesville, Ind. He said the weather has simply been more favorable this year compared to what Mother Nature delivered in 2023.

“We kind of always wait for that one part where something bad happens, and we’re not to the finish line yet, but fingers crossed, things have looked really, really good,” he said.

Other than some high winds impacting small pockets of corn fields, and a few cases of white mold starting to creep in, Brunner said 2024 looks like a banner year for Indiana.

“Everything’s set up pretty dadgum good right now,” Brunner said. “I think it’s a bumper crop.”

See the Day 1 Results from the 2024 Pro Farmer Crop Tour:
Pro Farmer Crop Tour, Day 1: Higher Pod Counts in South Dakota, Lower Yield Estimates In Ohio Versus 2023

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.

This year’s event takes place August 19-22. Register now to attend in-person or watch results live each night at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.
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