Latest News From Pro Farmer Crop Tour

The goal of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is to get an objective view of corn yield potential and count pods in a 3' square for soybeans. One of the keys this year will be how much damage the drought caused through June.  

Over the past 30 years of Pro Farmer Crop Tour, John Phipps has noted the reliably repetitive criticism of almost every aspect by farmers, media, and others. He addresses those critics in John's World.

How do you pass the 28-hours of drive time on Pro Farmer Crop Tour? Just ask our scouts! Check out a few of our favorite #PFTour22 tweets, and cast your own vote.

What prompted Pro Farmer to drop its national corn yield estimate below 170 bu. per acre? The story seemed to be just how much damage the heat and drought did to the crop this year, even since August 1st.

Pro Farmer estimates the U.S. corn crop at 13.759 billion bushels, with an average yield of 168.1 bu. per acre, and the U.S. soybean crop at 4.535 billion bushels, with an average yield of 51.7 bu. per acre.

In a relatively short time, corn and soybean prices have both gained $1 per bushel. This creates a decision-making opportunity.

Tune in at 1:30 p.m. central/2:30 p.m. eastern for the live broadcast of Pro Farmer's national corn and soybean crop estimates.

Soybeans took a hit in Minnesota, which was the western leg's trend this year. Corn showed more kernel depth and yield on both routes.

Tune in at 8 p.m. central/9 p.m. eastern for the live broadcast of Pro Farmer Crop Tour results.

Day 4 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is revealing some good to excellent corn and soybean crops in Iowa and Minnesota, along with concerns about drought in corn and the appearance of sudden death syndrome in beans.

On Thursday, corn prices jumped again. Prices are set for an week of back-to-back gains, the longest streak since May 2021.

Tune in at 8 p.m. central/9 p.m. eastern for the live broadcast of Pro Farmer Crop Tour results.

The third day of the 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour is revealing a lot of average crops in some states, but Illinois and Iowa corn and soybeans are showing some strength.

December corn futures rose to the highest price since late June and soybeans and wheat also rose amid concern over dry weather.  Why did corn prices surge? Several bullish factors are at play,

Tuesday's Crop Tour trek through Nebraska and Indiana gave scouts a glimpse at the moderate to exceptional drought Mother Nature has brought down on soil and crops this growing season.

On Day 2 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, scouts see a wide range of conditions in Indiana and Nebraska. Some irrigated corn and soybean fields are performing well, while dryland crops are struggling.

"We've got a huge discovery process that will be underway in southeast Nebraska,” says Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk. 

Extreme weather situations, including the annual Derecho, hit regions on the eastern leg earlier this year. While the eastern Corn Belt isn't as dry as its western counterpart, yield potential looks lower than 2021.

Watch Day 1 Results Live: Field checks tell the story: some missing ears on the western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour. On the eastern leg, scouts see ears but not record yield potential.

For the 30th year, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts will be providing insights for potential corn and soybean yields based on samples from 2,000 fields.

The 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicks off Monday, August 22 in South Dakota and Ohio. As scouts gather thousands of samples across the Midwest throughout the week, traders and market analysts are watching closely. 

USDA's crop production report showed an increase in soybean yields, but a lower national corn yield. Analysts say Pro Farmer Crop Tour next will reveal more answers about this year's crops and could be a market mover.

“This is the first boots-on-the-ground assessment and that ought to be revealing,” says Jerry Gulke.

Here's how you can follow along and analyze real-time results from the 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour.

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour's data-gathering methods are disciplined and produce consistent results.

The U.S. corn crop is consistently declining in condition. Currently 57% of the crop has a good or excellent rating, which ties with 2019 for the week's worst corn condition rating since 2012.

You have the opportunity to attend Pro Farmer Crop Tour nightly meeting or watch a brief broadcast online this year.

The best analysis of this year’s data will be to compare state-by-state results to past Pro Farmer Crop Tour data, with close attention to the percentage changes.

The 2022 Pro Farmer Crop Tour will be sweeping the Midwest soon. We spoke with a handful of master crop scouts to get a preview of what to expect on each leg of the tour.

The goal of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour is to get a strong, objective view of corn yield potential across the Corn Belt during the third full week of August. 

Why are you a scout on Crop Tour? How do you use your Tour observations?