The Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicked off this morning. The western leg of the tour started the day in Sioux Falls and will wrap up tonight in Grand Island, Nebraska. Crop scouts in the eastern leg of the tour will spend the day in Ohio before stopping tonight in Noblesville, Indiana. Brian Grete is leading the eastern portion of the tour and is looking for a big crop. “Indiana is expected to be a record crop; Illinois is expected to be a record crop; Iowa is expected to be a record crop; five of the seven crop tour states between the eastern leg and western leg are expecting record corn yields.” Likewise, Pro Farmer’s Chip Flory said he expects a “pretty good” crop on the western portion of the tour. Corn yields are calculated by evaluating ear populations, grain length in inches, kernel rows around the ear and row spacing in each field. Pro Farmer does not estimate soybean yields, but reports on pod counts in a three-by-three foot square.
