The final numbers are in for the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour that wrapped up Thursday. They pegged the corn crop at 14.728 billion bushels with a 170.2 bushel per acre average. The soybean harvest estimate is 4.093 billion bushels with a 49.3 bushel per acre average yield.
Corn:
Ohio: 154 bu. per acre. We didn’t find as much corn in Ohio as USDA did with its August survey work. The northwestern portion of the state showed the impacts of too much water in the spring, followed by a dry June.
Indiana: 174 bu. per acre. We found the Indiana crop vastly improved from year-ago. Portions of eastern Indiana have some “problem” areas, but yield prospects are strong in the western portion of the Hoosier state.
Illinois: 194 bu. per acre. Illinois has a great corn crop, but it’s not as good as 2014 when the state yielded 200 bu. per acre. This year’s crop isn’t as uniform as two years ago through the areas we sampled and southern portions of the state will pull down the statewide yield, unlike 2014.
Iowa: 193 bu. per acre. The Iowa corn crop is also very good, but not quite as good as its neighbor to the east. Yields were more variable in Iowa than in Illinois. Plus, stalk quality concerns could cost some producers yield.
Minnesota: 175 bu. per acre. The Minnesota corn crop was a disappointment. The crop showed impacts from the May 15 frost and three weeks of heat in late June/early July.
Nebraska: 179 bu. per acre. We found irrigated corn disappointing in the Husker state. South-central and southeastern areas are dealing with a lot of lodging and green snap.
South Dakota: 142. bu. per acre. Southeastern portions of the state got their crop planted late due to excessive spring precipitation. Once the crop was finally in the ground, conditions turned dry. Crop maturity has been pushed.
Soybeans
Ohio: 50 bu. per acre. While the crop has moisture to finish, pod counts were down 6.2% in our Tour samples. With the crop done flowering, what you see is what you get for pods.
Indiana: 55 bu. per acre. Pod counts in Indiana were up 7.8% from year-ago. The crop has plenty of soil moisture to fill pods and finish strong.
Illinois: 58.5 bu. per acre. The soybean crop in Illinois was exceptionally tall. While tall beans don’t always produce big yields, the Illinois soybean crop has plenty of pods and moisture to push above USDA’s August estimate.
Iowa: 58.5 bu. per acre. Iowa has potential to have a very big soybean crop. But Sudden Death Syndrome and other diseases will be an issue for some producers in eastern Iowa. That could keep yields from creeping higher.
Minnesota: 48 bu. per acre. We found a relatively consistent soybean crop in southern Minnesota. Unlike many other areas of the Corn Belt, Minnesota’s soybeans aren’t exceptionally tall, but they podded well.
Nebraska: 59 bu. per acre. The soybean crop in Nebraska is really tall, but is also heavily podded. In a change from recent years, water hemp is not a major problem across the state and shouldn’t be a yield robber this year.
South Dakota: 42 bu. per acre. The South Dakota soybean crop was tall and the distance between nodes was wide. That kept the crop from being heavily podded. On a positive note, the South Dakota soybean crop is free of disease or weed pressure.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.